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Lion-Tailed Macaque : Spotted

Lion-Tailed Macaque : Spotted

Lion-tailed macaque has been sporadically spotted by conservationists in the forests of Nadugani, shared by the Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu and Nilambur in Kerala.

  • Lion-tailed macaqueis an Old World monkey.
  • One of the distinguishing features of this species is that males define the boundaries of their home ranges by calls.
  • Overall, their communication system contains as many as 17 vocalisations.
  • They are characterised by the grey mane around their face.
  • They are sometimes called bearded monkeys.
  • The magnificent Lion-tailed macaque is named due to its lion-like, long, thin, and tufted tail.
  • In the wild, these are only native to India.
  • It is a primate endemic to small and severely fragmented rainforests of the Western Ghats in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
  • The biggest threat to the overall population of this species is the destruction of their rainforest habitat.
  • Conservation status
    • IUCN: Endangered
    • CITES: Appendix I
    • The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I