Lion-tailed macaque, scientific name Macaca silenus has also been named the wanderoo. Lion-tailed macaque a monkey native to the Western Ghats of southern India. The lion-legged macaque has black hair. One of its outstanding features is the silver-white man with a cheekbone around his head under his chin, which gives this monkey its German name Bartafe – “Beard Ape”.
The hairless face is black. The length of the body of the head is 42 to 61 cm and the weight is 2 to 10 kg and it is in small macaques. The tail is about 25 cm in length and has a black tuft at the end that resembles the tail of a lion, though this tuft is more pronounced in males than in females.
Pregnancy of the Lion-tailed macaque is for about six months. The young people are nursing for a year. Sexual maturity has reached four years for women and six years for men. The life expectancy in the wild is about 20 years, up to 30 years in captivity.
Lion-tailed macaque Behavior
Lion-tailed macaque inhabits rainforest; It is daily, which means it is exclusively active during daylight hours. It is a good climber and spends most of its life in the upper reaches of the tropical moist evergreen forest. Unlike other macaques, it usually avoids humans when possible.
Lion-tailed macaque is very similar to other macaques in group behavior, usually in the 10- to 20-member class, which is usually very male and very female.
It is a regional creature, first defending its territory by shouting loudly at the invading forces.
Aggressively quarrel if it proves fruitless; These aggressive interactions start from a blaze in a general chase or fight while constantly feeling. On the other hand, when there are reciprocal species, they do not engage loudly.
Lion-tailed macaque behavior is usually characterized by samples such as arboreal living, large numbers of fruit trees chosen, large interpersonal space during grazing, and a high proportion of time devoted to exploring and feeding the budget.
It primarily consumes native fruits, leaves, buds, insects, and small vertebrates in virgin forests, but can adapt to rapid environmental changes in the area of extensive selective logging by expanding behavioral changes and food choices to include yields, seeds, shoots, berries, flowers, Cone, mesocarp and many other parts of many indigenous and pioneer plants. In the Kerala forest, they have been found hunting for pigeon nests and eggs.
Habitat
Lion-tailed macaques are exclusively found in India in the wild. They reside in the Western Ghats hills and mountains in southwest India, where they inhabit steep mountain peaks and tropical rainforests. Broadleaf trees found in both evergreen and semi-evergreen rainforests as well as monsoon forests make up the Lion-tailed macaque’s preferred environment.
In mature highland rainforests where food supplies might be few and dispersed far, lion-tailed macaques are picky eaters. These endearing primates, who are only found in the Western Ghats of India, perform a crucial part in the tropical ecology by distributing seeds.
Diet
In pristine forests, lion-tailed macaques eat a variety of things, but their main diets consist of local fruits, seeds, flowers, insects, snails, and small vertebrates. Lion-tailed macaques preferentially eat from a variety of fruit trees while spending most of their time in the high canopy of tropical moist evergreen forests. Although they also eat tiny animals, insects, leaves, and buds, their primary diet of fruits and seeds supports the health of their habitat.
From species to species, monkeys have different natural diets. For instance, all species of marmoset scrape branches to consume plant gums. They also consume fruit, flowers, insects, and other tiny creatures including spiders, lizards, and snails. Macaques are omnivorous, meaning they consume both meat and vegetables. Long-tailed macaques concentrate on alternative food sources such as insects, stems, young and mature leaves, flowers, seeds, grass, mushrooms, invertebrates, bird eggs, clay, and bark throughout the dry season until the early rainy season when the fruit is scarce.
Lion-tailed macaque Population
According to a recent assessment by IUCN, 3-5 of these animals are spread across various regions of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka. Lion-laden maize is one of the rare and most threatened primates.
Their range has become increasingly fragmented and fragmented by the expansion of agriculture and tea, coffee, teak and irrigation, construction of reservoirs for irrigation and power generation, and human settlement to support such activities.
They do not live, eat or travel through tree plantations. Destroying their habitats and avoiding human intimacy caused a drastic reduction in their population. Public concern over the endangered status of lion-laden macaques from 1977 to that year has become the focus of India’s intense environmental debate in the Silent Valley.
From 1 to 6 1996, six troops were observed at Silent Valley National Park in Kerala, one of the most likely infrastructures for them. Silent Valley is the largest lion-laden macaque in southern India.
Other protected areas of Kerala include Niyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary, Shenandoran Wildlife Sanctuary, Periyar Tiger Archive and its courtyard (Cow and Connie), Erakikulam National Park, Pambadum Shola National Park, Rambar Bambhajan, Arambikavam, Bambarbam Balagam Sanctuary, and Chimney Wildlife Sanctuary and Way Ada region.
Northern populations of a self-sustaining single population species occurred in 32 groups of lion-tailed macaques in Sirsi-Hannavara, Karnataka. A local census was concluded in Tamil Nadu in 23 Tamil Nadu’s Thani district, but their numbers were around 250 or so, which was considered encouraging as no lion-laden macaques were reported in that area till then.
The species is also found prominently in the Papansam portion of the Kalakkad Mundanthaurai Tiger Reserve in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu. Many zoos participate in breeding programs that help to protect the species’ survival.
Of these, about 338 were reported to be in the Makak Zoo. However, it is no longer on the ‘World’s 20 Most Endangered Primates’ list, after the international body has compiled it and decided that local governments in South India have taken positive steps to protect it.
Indian lion tailed macaque Description
The Lion-tailed macaque has black hair. Its outstanding feature is the silver-white man with a cheekbone around his head under his chin, which gives this monkey its German name Bertaff – “Beard Ape”. The hairless face is black.
Head and body of the Lion-tailed macaque length of 42 to 61 cm and weigh 2 to 10nsp; With KG, it is among the smaller macaques. The tail is medium in length, about 25 cm in length, and has a black tuft similar to the tail of a lion at the end. Male tail tufts are more developed than females.
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