| Macaca | |
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| Toque macaque (Macaca sinica) | |
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| Genus: | Macaca |
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The macaques are a genus (Macaca) of Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. The 22 species of macaques live in North Africa, and more widely in Asia. One species is the well-known Barbary macaque. Macaques are of some interest to human researchers for their social structures, and their usefulness in animal testing, particularly regarding eyesight.
Macaques have a very intricate social structure and hierarchy. If a macaque of a lower level in the social chain has eaten berries and none are left for a higher-level macaque, then the one higher in status can, within this social organization, remove the berries from the other monkey's mouth.
In 2014 selfies taken by a crested black macaque seemed to establish a legal precedent, after the Wikimedia Foundation rejected a copyright claim.
The photos had been sold widely by David Slater, a professional nature photographer, whose camera was temporarily carried away by a group of macaques. After the photos were uploaded to Wikipedia, the organisation refused to delete them, claiming "This file is in the public domain, because as the work of a non-human animal, it has no human author in whom copyright is vested.
