Lion-tailed Macaque : A Tropical Rainforest Primate Species

Endemic to tropical rainforests of Western Ghats in India, the Lion-tailed macaques prefer the upper canopy of evergreen rainforests.

They play an important role in the ecology in which they live by dispersing the seeds and also transporting the seeds at long distances and they do it either by droppings or defecating seeds. Due to extensive habitat loss and fragmentation, the lion tailed macaque is listed as an Endangered Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List for the sixth time and continues to be in the Endangered category since 1996. Its scientific name is Macaca silenus. It is also known as Wanderoo.

Habitats

The Lion-tailed macaque, a primate species, is endemic to wet evergreen forests of the Western Ghats in the states of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The largest population of the lion tailed macaque inhabit the Silent Valley National Park which is one of the most undisturbed forest areas of the Ghats.

Severe fragmentation of rainforests of the Western Ghats, which are natural habitats of lion tailed macaques, has become one of major threats to the species.

There are only 2400-2500 macaques found across the range states of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in India, according to the IUCN. Its population is continuously declining due to habitat destruction.

Behaviour

It is a territorial animal who defends its territory first with loud cry and bared teeth towards invaders.

They are social animals, live in groups of 10 to 20 animals consisting of few adult males (1 to 3) and many adult females and their offspring.

They spend some little time grooming and only one male in the group who protects his troops from outsiders will be the one who dominates the group and breeds.

They are diurnal primates and they are active exclusively in daylight time and during this time they are foraging and finding areas to forage, in between also resting for some time.

For lion-tailed macaques, there is no specific breeding season but generally they prefer the wet season for breeding as resources are most abundant at that time. They follow polygynous mating system.

The Lion-tailed macaque is omnivorous as it feeds primarily on indigenous fruits, seeds, flowers, insects and some vertebrates. They get some of their water by licking dew from leaves.

It has black fur and gray or silver mane that surrounds its face and the face itself is hairless and black. It is named not for its mane, but for its long tail with lion-like appearance.

Threats

Habitat loss and fragmentation due to excessive timber harvesting and plantation of exotic species in the Western Ghats has become the largest threat to the lion-tailed macaque.

Logging or clearing the rainforests for agriculture expansion, coffee, tea plantations, and construction of dams on rivers or streams for power generation and irrigation purposes and human settlements near the wildlife habitats including rainforests resulted in high level fragmentation and habitat loss which limited their movement inside the fragmented or isolated habitats that led to inbreeding which causes many genetic issues and also having low numbers in the wild.

The fragmentation of rainforests forces the Lion-tailed macaques to venture out to forage, leading to acceleration of human-animal conflicts.

Due to the high level of fragmentation, they are struggling to find food and often get hit by cars and get electrocuted by power lines.

Hunting and trapping by humans for meat and illegal trade poses the second largest threat to the lion tailed macaque.

Because of the constant destruction of the habitat and hunting, Now, The lion-tailed macaque is listed as Endangered in the IUCN's Red List for the sixth time.