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Primates and Predator Interactions
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Snakes of various various families are believed to be important factors in primate evolution, an ever present threat that elicits fear in many various families of primates, humans included. Here is a very neat overview article(http://m.pnas.org/content/108/52/E1470.long) reporting predatory events from snakes on primates, from being circumstantial to regukar and important predators. The constricting snakes(Boidae and pythonidae) are the most prolific, with Reticulated, Indian, and you African rock pythons eating a wide variety of species, humans included.
Venomous snakes are circumstantial predators, and also preset a threat via defensive bites. Below is a section from the above linked article reporting predation events: "Snakes have killed 2 species of tree shrews (17, 19); at least 6 species of strepsirrhines, including 3 species of lemurs (20⇓–22), 2 species of galagos (23⇓–25), and a slow loris (Nycticebus coucang) (26); and 20 species of nonhuman haplorhines, including a spectral tarsier (Tarsius spectrum) (27), 8 species of New World monkeys (13, 28–35), 10 species of Old World monkeys (17, 36⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓–45), and a siamang (Hylobates syndactylus) (46). Primates have been ambushed as they descended from trees [e.g., boa constrictor (Boa constrictor) on a white-faced capuchin (Cebus capucinus)] (28), as they passed over water on vegetation [e.g., green anaconda (Eunectes murinus) on a black-chested mustached tamarin (Saguinus mystax)] (29), and from trailside or overhead in trees (reticulated pythons on humans); juveniles have been snatched from their mothers [Madagascan ground boa (Acrantophis madagascariensis) on Verraux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi)] (21) or eaten with them (reticulated python on long-tailed macaque) (44) as well as taken by foraging into shelters (reticulated pythons on humans). Although venomous snakes sometimes kill primates in defense (43), mangrove snakes (Boiga dendrophila) (19), black-necked spitting cobras (Naja nigricollis) (25), mambas (Dendroaspis) (24, 45), white-tailed lanceheads (Bothrops leucurus) (34), and Gaboon adders (Bitis gabonica) (45) occasionally consume tree shrews, strepsirrhines, and haplorhines. No living serpents specialize on primates, but several species of constrictors regularly prey on them. Reticulated pythons frequently eat long-tailed macaques (Fig. 3) and silvered leaf monkeys (Trachopithecus cristatus) (17, 42) as well as lorises (26) and tarsiers (27). Northern (P. sebae) and southern (P. natalensis) African pythons eat diverse vertebrates, including galagos (25), chacma baboons (Papio hamadryas) (37), red colobus monkeys (Procolobus badius) (40), mona monkeys (Cercopithecus mona) (41), and vervets (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) (42). Multiple records exist of predation by Madagascan ground and tree (Sanzinia madagascariensis) boas on lemurs (20⇓–22), and New World boa constrictors have attacked white-tailed titis (Callicebus discolor) (13), black-chested mustached tamarins (29, 31), white-eared marmosets (Callithrix aurita) (30), bearded sakis (Chiropotes satanus) (32), two species of capuchins (13, 28, 33), and lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia) (35)." Indian pythons seem to have a prediliction for primates as well, namely langurs and mscaques. Here are two instances  *This image is copyright of its original author "Remember the National Geographic videos where a python swallows a big animal. I for one never thought I would ever witness anything like that, but on a morning safari I got as close to it as possible. A Python was lying in a trench next to the safari path wrapped around the body of a full-grown langur. When you look at the picture it looks like it is holding a mouse, but it was a langur that it has killed may be 10-15 minutes ago. Python’s face could be seen between the legs of the langur and the length of the Python’s body was neatly wrapped around langur’s dead body. The signs of fight were visible on both the bodies as blood was still oozing out of them. In fact this is how we figured out that the killing has happened just a few minutes ago. Our forest guide told us that the Python would keep tightening the grip on the prey till it is very sure that it is dead and ready to be his meal. He will then swallow the whole animal and the digestion would take few weeks or may be a few months. Till it needs the food again, it would just lie around lazily in the jungle and does not move much till its stomach is full. Wonder if I would have also preferred a lifestyle where I can eat once a month and be done with my food requirements. It was an eerie sight to watch, especially with blood that was still coming out, but I am told this is an extremely rare sight to see in a jungle." http://www.inditales.com/kanha-national-park-speak-to-me/ Indian python with female macaque "In the afternoon of 11 January 2006, at the 109 Lodge of Khao Yai, 5 m from the main road, which passes through the Park’s headquarters, we observed an adult female Pig-tailed Macaque being looped and squeezed by an ca. 2.5 m Burmese Python. At 1200 h, the macaque was squeezed against a small tree (ca. 6 cm diameter) where it presumably died. At 1330 h, the snake began swallowing its prey, headf irst (Fig. 1), and it spent 30 min. swallowing this part. Then the python attempted to swallow macaque’s shoulders, the widest part of the body (Fig. 2), but was unsuccessful. It then regurgitated the macaque and rotated the prey and started swallowing from the shoulders. It took the python 50 min. to completely swallowing the macaque at 1450 h. The python remained resting in the area for about 20 min., before retreating into a clump of bamboo. During the aforementioned event, there were two macaques walking and sitting on the roof of 109 Lodge, 20 m from the python without giving alarm calls. "  *This image is copyright of its original author http://www.researchgate.net/profile/V_Deepak/publication/260102887_Preliminary_Observations_on_the_Diet_of_the_Cane_Turtle_(Vijayachelys_silvatica)/links/0f31752f8f36f30e60000000.pdf |
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