Lesser Adjutant co-existing with Long-tailed Macaques

“The Lesser Adjutants (Leptoptilos javanicus) are big, standing at about 1.2m tall but gentle birds as seen at Parit Jawa in Muar, Malaysia. They seem to co-exist with long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) that roam along the riverbanks hunting for crustaceans. A group of 5 to 6 macaques were spotted on 20th December 2011, foraging along the river bank for 15 minutes before they retreated back to the mangrove forest. The Lesser Adjutant walked calmly past the macaque and both creatures did not even bat an eyelid.

“Most creatures are naturally intimidated by size but as seen in the second photo, the baby macaque showed no sign of fear when the huge bird walked by and continued feeding. Perhaps the presence of other family members helped to dispel any fear.”

Thong Chow Ngian
Singapore
28th December 2011