The Lion-Tailed Macaque is an omnivore. An omnivore is an organism which eats both plants and animals. They eat fruits; flowers; young leaves; mushrooms; seeds; and many varieties of plants. The macaque also eats insects; catapillars; lizards; grubs; tree frogs; snails; eggs; spiders; small birds; and snakes. The insects and animals that the macaque eats provide protein that the fruit doesn't. Macaques can't live on only fruit because of its high sugar level. We found out that an average catapillar has 10-15 calories, which should give you an idea of how many catapillars the macaque would have to eat to match the many calories humans consume in a day. The macaque carries extra food in cheek pouches, like a hamster.
In the zoo the Lion-Tailed Macaque eats basically the same things they eat in the wild. They also eat yams; apples; carrots; corn-based cereal biscuits (they call them primate biscuits); oranges; crickets (when they need the extra protein); goat fish; sunflower seeds; and sometimes as a treat, ground-up horse meat.
