Lion tailed Macaque

Lion tailed macaque with the scientific name Macaca silenus, is said to be the ancestor of all Asian monkeys.

These species are native to Western Ghats in South India and is the most endangered primates among the macaque species in the world. The classification of the Lion tailed macaque is specified as below,

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Mammalia
Order	Primates
Family	Cercopithecidae
Genus	Macaca
Species	Macaca silenus

Physical Structure

The lion tailed macaque is a medium-sized monkey with dark brown or black colored coat. The fur is covered with smooth, long and shiny hair. It has a silver white colored mane which is seen framing the face like lion and face is colored black. They have a lion-like thin tail with a bunch of black hair at the end.

Both male and female look almost similar in appearance except for males having larger size canines. These macaques possess a simple stomach close to humans which helps them to digest sugars and carbohydrates. The body length ranges from 45 to 60 centimeters.

They weigh around 6 to 7 kg with a tail of 25 cm long. The height of Lion tailed macaque is 1.5 to 2 feet.

Behavior

Lion tailed macaque spends most of its time in trees since they are arboreal like

other monkeys and at night they spend at the top of the forest. They are found in groups of 10 to 30 animals which comprises of a male, many females and their off springs. Their call can be like screams, growls, gestures and many more depending on the situation. Usually they eat food by stuffing them on their cheek pouches. They stay away from humans since they turn aggressive all of a sudden.

Distribution and Habitat

This arboreal animal prefers various habitats like tropical evergreen rain forest, evergreen broad leaf monsoon forest, and they inhabit tropical evergreen, mountainous or hilly regions preferably within the Western Ghats range. Their range in elevation ranges from 100 to 1,800 meters. These species are distributed in various areas in and around the Western Ghats.

Their range includes Kalakkadu Hills at north to Anshi Ghat in various south western states like Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil nadu.

Places found

Lion tailed macaque can be spotted in the below Sanctuaries : • Brahmagiri Sanctuary – Karnataka, India
• Kudremukh National Park – Karnataka, India
• Mookambika Sanctuary – Karnataka, India
• Pushpagiri Sanctuary – Karnataka, India
• Sharavathi Valley Sanctuary – Karnataka, India
• Someshwara Sanctuary – Karnataka, India

• Talakaveri Sanctuary – Karnataka, India
• Aralam Sanctuary – Kerala, India
• Chimmony Sanctuary – Kerala, India
• Neyyar Sanctuary – Kerala, India
• Peppara Sanctuary – Kerala, India
• Parambikulam Sanctuary– Kerala, India
• Periyar National Park –Kerala, India
• Periyar Sanctuary – Kerala, India
• Shendurney Sanctuary – Kerala, India
• Silent Valley National Park – Kerala, India
• Indira Gandhi Sanctuary – Tamil Nadu, India
• Kalakkad Sanctuary – Tamil Nadu, India
• Mundanthurai Sanctuary – Tamil Nadu, India
• Grizzled Giant Squirrel Sanctuary – Tamil Nadu, India
• Mudumalai National park and Sanctuary –Tamil Nadu, India.
Silent Valley National park has recorded the largest Lion Tailed Macaque population in India and is the main home of these endangered species.

Food habits

Lion tailed macaques are omnivores and they prefer feeding on fruits, jack fruit, passion fruit, guava, buds, leaves, flowers, insects, cone, shoots, seeds, mesocarp, vegetables, sunflower seeds, bread, peanuts, maize, small birds and mammals depending on their habitat.

Mating Behaviour

The species attain maturity at the age of 3 to 4 years. They possess their own territorial boundaries.

Their mating period extends throughout the year. The reproduction cycle of these macaque species are very slow. The female gives birth to offsprings every three year. The gestation period lasts for about 160 to 180 days. After which it yields a single offspring. The female stays with its young ones until 3 years after which they join their territorial group.

Population and Statistics

The total population of Lion tailed macaque is estimated to be 4,000 and is distributed in the south western parts of India. Reports state that around 1,216 individuals exist in parts of Kerala and 500 individuals in parts of Tamil nadu. They are ranked the most threatened species.

International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) has classified Lion tailed macaque as 'Endangered' species because of the various threats these species are encountering. Recently, 32 groups of Lion tailed macaques were found in the region of Karnataka.

Threats to Lion Tailed Macaques

The threats faced by Lion tailed macaque are loss of habitat, loss of food and hunting. The loss of habitat includes factors like increase in agricultural land, increase in human population which in turn leads to transfer of the forests for human settlements, construction of reservoirs for irrigation and power generation purposes and timber harvest.

The lack in food is encountered due to the factors like planting crops like tea, coffee, Teak, cinchona and eucalyptus by destroying the preferable plants of these species. They are been hunted for meat, some parts are being used for medicinal purpose too.

The blend of poaching with the habitat loss has rendered the Lion tailed

macaque as the most endangered species among the macaque family. Statistics states that if two animals are killed every year then these species would go to extinction.

Conservation efforts in India

International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has listed these species under Appendix I to protect these species from being extinct. They are also included under Schedule I of Wild Life Protection act 1972 to ban trade of these species. Programmes are being conducted to avoid Lion tailed macaque from being extinct. Efforts are being taken to protect the forested areas from becoming plantation land or human settlements thereby avoiding the habitat loss. Various researches like genetic research, epidemiology, limiting factor are being done. Other actions includes captive breeding, public education, wild population management, captive management and limiting factor management

Interesting Facts

• Lion Tailed Macaques are quadrupedal species.
• These species do not have capability to adapt to new habitat.
• They lead a social life and prefer to be at tree tops all the time.


• They are very naughty and tend to hang around the forest without staying at a single place for a long time.
• The Lion tailed macaque group fight with the other rival groups to get right over the good fruiting trees.