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NEXT UP: 3rd seed Bearcat (Arctictis binturong) vs. 6th seed Lion-Tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus)! #2019MMM 
Lion-tailed macaques are highly endemic to the Western Ghats - India's monsoon-pattern-changing-mountain chain with forests older than the Himalayas & biodiversity up the wazoo (a UNESCO World Heritage Site!) #2019MMM timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environme…
Lion-tailed macaques, or van̆durā/wanderoos in Sinhalese, were named one of the most endangered primate species in the world by IUCN in 2010. Unlike other macaques, these monkeys avoid people at all costs, which may be doing themselves a favor: #2019MMM en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World…
#ActualLivingScientist Dr. Govindhaswamy Umapathy studies the impacts of habitat fragmentation on lion-tailed macaque populations &has found fragmented habitats=lower birth rates/diet diversity, &in pops living closer to humans, more GI parasites. #2019MMM omicsonline.org/author-profile…
Tonight's battles takes place in Khao Yai National Park in Thailand. It's midday and Lion-Tailed Macaque is a bit confused. He's still holding the athhi [Tamil for fig] he was just eating, but he definitely isn't in India anymore. #FigPortkey???? #2019MMM
The sudden appearance of the Lion-Tailed Macaque startles a large female binturong out of her nice #BearCatNap. #2019MMM
Bearcats actually have pretty good eyesight at day or night so can be active whenever. This one did not want to be active now. #2019MMM animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/bintur…
Bearcat eyed the Lion-Tailed Macaque grumpily. He was noisy and his mane marked him as very different from the gibbons & pig-tailed macaques she was used to, but he was in the other tree. #2019MMM
Even if she wanted to get rid of Lion-Tailed Macaque, Bearcat isn't acrobatic enough to jump over to him - she'd have to climb all the way down her tree & back up his. Ankles that can turn 180 degrees (to help climbing down trees headfirst) could only help so much. #2019MMM
Lion-Tailed Macaque, intrigued by the smell of popcorn & hungry for more figs, approaches Bearcat quickly, chirping curiously. (Nettelbeck 1998, Folia Primatologica) #2019MMM drive.google.com/file/d/1mMfsIV…
Bearcat lunges, chasing the primate away when jumps to her tree & gets within her 5 meter #PersonalSpace #BearcatBubble. #2019MMM (Nettelbeck 1998, Folia Primatologica)
Lion-Tailed Macaque "bares his teeth & calls", hoping for some backup. He's "jumping from branch to branch" around her #BearcatBubble. Bearcat stares at him, becoming increasingly annoyed. She "snarls at him twice, loudly." #2019MMM (Nettelbeck 1998, Folia Primatologica)
Ignoring this, Lion-Tailed Macaque tries it again, violating the terms &conditions of her #BearCatBubble with his calls/displays. Bearcat gives a loud growling snarl & chases Macaque out of her tree. #SoundOn #2019MMM (Nettelbeck 1998, Folia Primatologica)
Realizing there's no backup coming for him, Lion-Tailed Macaque runs off. #2019MMM
BEARCAT DEFEATS LION-TAILED MACAQUE #2019MMM
