Macaque

The macaques are a genus (Macaca) of Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae.^[1] The 22 species of macaques live in sub-Saharan Africa, and more widely in Asia. One species is the well-known Gibraltar 'ape'. Macaques are of some interest to human researchers for their social structures, and their usefulness in animal testing, particularly regarding eyesight.

Macaca
Toque macaque (Macaca sinica)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Family:	Cercopithecidae
Subfamily:	Cercopithecinae
Genus:	Macaca

Monkey does selfie: A black crested macaque (Macaca nigra) takes a photo of herself

Social behavior

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.^[2]

Copyright test case

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.^[3][4]