Lion-Tailed Macaque
- Context (TH): The 2,000 MW Sharavathy project proposed by the Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd will include blasting and movement of heavy machinery in the Sharavathi Lion Tailed Macaque Sanctuary.
About Lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus)
- Lion-tailed macaque (or wanderoo), sometimes called bearded monkey, is an Old World monkey endemic to the Western Ghats.
- Physical description: They are covered in black fur and have a striking gray or silver mane that surrounds their face, which can be found in both sexes. The mane that surrounds its face gives it the nickname “beard ape“.
- Unlike other macaques, they are shy and avoid humans when possible. Males define the boundaries of their home ranges by calls.
- They are arboreal and diurnal (active exclusively in daylight hours).
- Distribution: Found in three states, namely, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
- Habitat: Prefers tropical evergreen rainforests but also found in monsoon forests.
- Diet: They are omnivorous, but their diet consists mainly of fruit. They also eat a wide variety of vegetation such as leaves, stems, flowers, buds, and fungi.
- Threats: Habitat loss, hunting and wood harvesting.
- Conservation Status: IUCN: Endangered | CITES: Appendix I | Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I
- Significance: It is an indicator of the health of rainforests. It is an Umbrella species for the conservation of other wildlife species in the region.
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