Lion Tailed Macaque

The Lion-tailed macaque is an Old World Monkey, endemic to the Western Ghats of South India. Its outstanding characteristic is the silver-white mane which surrounds the head from the cheeks down to chin. The hair of the lion-tailed macaque is black. Its outstanding characteristic is the silver-white mane which surrounds the head from the cheeks down to its chin.

The lion-tailed macaque is a diurnal rainforest dweller. It is a good climber and spends a majority of its life in the upper canopy of tropical moist evergreen forests. Unlike other macaques, it avoids humans. In group behavior, it is much like other macaques; it lives in hierarchical groups of usually 10 to 20 animals, which consist of few males and many females. It is a territorial animal, defending its area first with loud cries towards the invading troops. If this proves to be fruitless, it brawls aggressively.

Can be spotted at: Silent Valley National Park, Kerala, Papanasam part of the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu and Sirsi-Honnavara rainforests of North-Western Ghats in Karnataka.

 

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