Lion-Tailed
Macaque
They are perilously close to extinction because of habitat destruction

Order: Primates    Family: Cercopithecidae    Genus & Species: Macaca silenus

Confined to tiny, isolated pockets in upland evergreen forests of the Western Ghats, the mountainous range that borders the western coast of India.  They are perilously close to extinction because of habitat destruction.  Classified by the World Conservation Union as endangered.

Habitat
Although the lion-tailed macaque's Indian distribution extends nearly 600km from north to south, only one per cent of the area offers suitable habitat.  The species favours broad-leaved tropical forest at altitudes of 600-1500m.  This forest has been so widely felled that the macaque population is fragmented into several units occupying tiny scraps of forest, some as small as 35ha.  The plantations and open plains that have replaced the forest are obstacles to the macaques, and isolated populations are becoming inbred.
    The macaque population is fragmented into several units
The surviving forests lie on richly varied terrain broken by river valleys, deep gorges and rocky outcrops.  The trees are festooned with mosses, ferns and orchids, while the clearings support grasses and herbs.  Thickets of wild fig trees are particularly attractive to macaque troops.

Individuals keep in contact with facial expressions and calls		 Behaviour
The sociable macaque lives in troops of up to 30 individuals, though most number 10 to 20.  Troop structure is variable.  Harems of several adult females are headed by one to three adult males.  Accompanying the females are several juveniles.
In the largest forest pockets each troop occupies a home range of up to 5 sq km.   Although this often overlaps with neighbouring ranges, the troop defends a core of up to 300ha.
Active by day, a macaque troop spends more than 90 per cent of its time off the forest floor. 
Intermittently feeding and resting, the troop moves nimbly from tree to tree, often in a zigzag or circling pattern that allows all members free access to feeding trees.  Individuals keep in contact with facial expressions and calls, including screeches, growls, squawks and a shrill bark.  Special warning calls alert the troop to marauding birds of prey.  At sunset, the troop returns to its core area where it rests in the branches for the night.  Although the macaque occasionally descends to the forest floor and is an able swimmer, it is wholly unwilling to cross wide clearings.   The slightest scent or sight of a mammalian predator sends a troop fleeing for the safety of the branches.
Feeding
Waking at dawn, the lion-tailed macaque feeds until midday, when it rests to digest the contents of its stomach, then feeds again for about four hours in the afternoon.  It eats leaves, fruit, fungi, grasses and sedges from the forest floor up to the canopy.  Animal matter comprises up to 45 per cent of an adults diet.   This includes reptiles, such as lizards and tree frogs, as well as invertebrates found on leaves and decaying timber.		      
The macaque occasionally descends to the forest floor
The infant is weaned after a year Breeding
When receptive, a female's rump swells to attract a male.  She also lures him with a love call.  The two groom and embrace, and may be so harassed by other females that they find a quiet spot in which to mate.
After a gestation period of about five months, the female gives birth to a single offspring weighing about 450g.  As the infant grows, it leaves its mother with increasing regularity, exploring the canopy and developing its coordination.  It is weaned after a year.  Female offspring remain in their natal group, whereas males often leave the group, either through choice or under pressure from the adult males.

Welcome Page