Rhesus Macaque

Macaca mulatta

LCLeast Concern
Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta mulatta), male, GokarnaMacaca mulatta juvenile, Puerto RicoRhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta)Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta)Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta mulatta) female
Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta mulatta), male, GokarnaPhoto: Geoff Gallice · CC BY 2.0Macaca mulatta juvenile, Puerto RicoPhoto: Алексей Логинов · CC BY 4.0Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta)Photo: Barry Stewart · CC BY 4.0Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta)Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta mulatta) female

The rhesus macaque is an adaptable Asian monkey introduced beyond its native range. It occurs across South and East Asia. Its habits explain more than a map point: It eats fruits, leaves, seeds, insects, and human food. The records shown here document encounters and survey effort, not population size. Together, they show where this mammal has been found and why healthy habitat matters for its future.

US Range
Explore by state

Rhesus Macaque across 1 state

Occurrence records, conservation status, and the places it turns up, state by state. Open a state for detail, or visit its full page.

  • FloridaIntroducedCommon383 records

    Notable placesSilver River State Park · Ocala National Forest · Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway State Recreation and Conservation Area

    Countiesrecorded in 6

    Year-round in Florida, with recorded sightings peaking in February–April.

    Full Florida page →All Florida mammals →

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Elevation

From 200 georeferenced records, the Rhesus Macaque is recorded from 8 m26 ft to 40 m131 ft, with half of sightings below 23 m75 ft.

Each band shows the share of georeferenced sightings that fall within it. Records cluster where people live and hike, so low, populated elevations are over-represented. Read this as observation density, not true abundance.

Observation peakApril6,293 records

Seasonality from research-grade observation dates across the US (6,293 records, all years). Reflects when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Best encounter

Where and when to see a Rhesus Macaque

Your best chance: Florida, in April.

Where
FloridaFL
When
April
Trophic relationshipsFood web What a Rhesus Macaque eats, and what eats it.
Eaten by

Few natural predators as an adult

This speciesRhesus Macaque
Climbing AsterAmpelaster carolinianus
Eats1

A sample of documented feeding relationships, filtered to species that also occur in the US. Diet and predators vary by region and season, and this is not a complete list, many animals eat, and are eaten by, more than what has been formally recorded here.

Life history

The Rhesus Macaque (5.3–9.2 kg11.8–20.2 lb) is a herbivore that first breeds around 3.4 years, carries a 165-day gestation, and bears about 1 young per litter. Maximum recorded longevity is 40 years.

Life cycle

  1. Gestation165 days (≈5.4 months)
  2. Birthlitter of 1 young
  3. Sexual maturity3.4 yr (female) · 5.5 yr (male)
  4. Typical lifespan40 years
  5. Maximum recorded longevity40 years

Reproduction

Gestation
165days≈5.4 months
Litter size
1youngaverage
Litters / year
1litter
Age at first breeding
3.4years♀ 3.4 · ♂ 5.5 yr

Diet composition

Herbivore

By foraging composition: 40% plant material, 30% fruit, 20% seeds & grain, 10% invertebrates.

  • Plant material40%
  • Fruit30%
  • Seeds & grain20%
  • Invertebrates10%

Most active during the day.

Typical values for the species, not local measurements. Maximum longevity is the longest lifespan on record; most individuals live far less.

Commonly confused with

Animals people sometimes mistake for the rhesus macaque, and how to tell them apart.

Life in its habitat

It eats fruits, leaves, seeds, insects, and human food. It’s tied to places supplying food and shelter. That connection explains much of its range.

Adult rhesus macaque cradling an infant clinging to its chest, close portrait
Infants cling tightly to their mothers for the first months of life as the troop moves and forages together. Photo: Davidvraju, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons).

What records reveal

Florida records center on the Silver River, not a natural statewide range. Survey effort varies, and accessible places receive more attention. A gap can’t prove absence.

Female and juvenile rhesus macaque sitting on an ornate stone railing at Galtaji, Jaipur
Rhesus macaques readily settle around temples, buildings, and other human structures across their range. Photo: Yann Forget, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons).

Looking ahead

Monitoring matters because introduced monkeys affect native habitats. Conservation works best when it protects connected habitat and reduces avoidable deaths. Surveys can reveal change without confusing records with animal numbers.

Sources

  1. GBIF – Macaca mulatta
  2. Wikipedia – Rhesus macaque
  3. iNaturalist – Rhesus Macaque
  4. Wikidata – rhesus macaque
  5. Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI, CC0)
  6. OpenTopoData – SRTM elevation lookup

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources: