Diet and feeding behavior of a group of high-altitude rhesus macaques: high adaptation to food shortages and seasonal fluctuations

Diet and feeding behavior data are crucial to a deep understanding of the behavioral response and adaptation of primates to a high-altitude environment. From August 2019 to June 2021, we collected data on the feeding behavior of a high-altitude rhesus macaque Macaca mulatta group from Yajiang County, Western Sichuan Plateau, which has an altitude of over 3,500 m. The results showed that feeding (33.0 ± 1.8%) and moving (28.3 ± 2.6%) were the dominant behavior of rhesus macaques. Macaques ate 193 food items, comprising 11 food categories from 90 species. Our study found that plant roots (30.9 ± 30.1%) and young leaves (28.0 ± 33.1%) were the main foods eaten by macaques. The preferred foods of rhesus macaques were young leaves, fruits, and seeds, and the consumption of these items was positively correlated with its food availability. When the availability of preferred foods was low, macaques took plant roots, barks, and fallen leaves as fallback foods. In particular, roots were a dominant food item in winter, and this way of feeding became a key survival strategy. Our results suggest that, facing the relative scarcity and strong seasonal fluctuations of food resources in high-altitude habitat, macaques adopt active foraging strategies, relying on a variety of food species and adjusting flexibly their food choices based on food availability, which may help to maximize the energy efficiency of high-altitude macaques.