imported>Billjones94 at 10:01, 30 August 2021

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{{Short description|Species of Old World monkey}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2020}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Lion tailed macaque<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Groves|pages=164|id=12100561}}</ref>
| image = Lion-tailed Macaque in Bristol Zoo.jpg
| image_caption = Male at [[Bristol Zoo]]
| image2 = Lion-tailed Macaque, Singapore Zoo (27787086112).jpg
| image2_caption = Female at [[Singapore Zoo]]
| status = EN
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>Singh, M., Kumar, A. & Kumara, H.N. (2020). ''Macaca silenus''. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020. {{doi|10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T12559A17951402.en}}</ref>
| genus = Macaca
| species = silenus
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])<ref>{{cite book|last=Linne|first=Carl von|title=Systema naturæ. Regnum animale.|year=1758|page=26|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/80764#page/36/mode/1up|edition=10th|access-date=19 November 2012}}</ref>
| synonyms =
*''Macaca albibarbatus'' ([[Robert Kerr (writer)|Kerr]], 1792)
*''Macaca ferox'' ([[George Shaw|Shaw]], 1792)
*''Macaca veter'' ([[Jean Baptiste Audebert|Audebert]], 1798)
*''Macaca vetulus'' (Erxleben, 1777)
*''Macaca silanus'' ([[Frédéric Cuvier|F. Cuvier]], 1822)
*''Simia silenus'' Linnaeus, 1758
| range_map = Lion-tailed Macaque area.png
| range_map_caption = Lion-tailed macaque range
}}

The '''lion-tailed macaque''' (''Macaca silenus''), or the '''wanderoo''', is an [[Old World monkey]] endemic to the [[Western Ghats]] of [[South India]].

==Physical characteristics==
[[File:Lion-tailed macaque canine.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A male showing his canines]]
[[File:Naturalis Biodiversity Center - ZMA.MAM.23967.a lat - Macaca silenus Linnaeus - skull.jpeg|thumb|A skull preserved at the [[Naturalis Biodiversity Center]] in [[Leiden]], Netherlands]]
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, which gives this [[monkey]] its German name ''Bartaffe'' – "beard ape". The hairless face is black in colour. With a head-body length of 42 to 61 cm and a weight of 2 to 10 kg, it ranks among the smaller [[macaque]]s. The tail is medium in length at about 25 cm, and has a black tuft at the end that is similar to a lion's tail, although this tuft is more pronounced in males than in females.

Gestation is approximately six months. The young are nursed for one year. Sexual maturity is reached at four years for females, and six years for males. The life expectancy in the wild is approximately 20 years, while in captivity is up to 30 years.<ref name="WAZA">{{cite web|url=http://www.waza.org/virtualzoo/factsheet.php?id=106-008-003-010&view=Monkeys&main=virtualzoo |title=Lion-tailed Macaque|publisher= World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), Virtual Zoo|access-date=24 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225204604/http://www.waza.org/virtualzoo/factsheet.php?id=106-008-003-010&view=Monkeys&main=virtualzoo|archive-date=25 February 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Behaviour==
[[File:LTM panorama.jpg|thumb|center|700px|Lion-tailed macaque in the [[Anaimalai Hills|Anamalai Hills]].]]
The lion-tailed macaque is a rainforest dweller; it is [[diurnal animal|diurnal]], meaning it is active exclusively in daylight hours. It is a good climber and spends a majority of its life in the upper [[Canopy (forest)|canopy]] of [[tropical moist evergreen forest]]s. Unlike other macaques, it typically avoids humans when possible. In group behavior, the lion-tailed macaque is much like other macaques, living in hierarchical groups of usually 10 to 20 members, which usually 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; these aggressive interactions can range from a simple chase or igniting a fight when feeling aggravated. On the other hand, when around mutualistic species, they do not engage vigorously.{{cn|date=May 2019}}

[[File:Doing the nasty.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Mating]]
Lion-tailed macaque behaviour is characterized by typical patterns such as [[arboreal]] living, selectively feeding on a large variety of fruit trees, large interindividual spaces while foraging, and time budgets with high proportion of time devoted to exploration and feeding.<ref name=singh/> It primarily eats indigenous fruits, leaves, buds, insects and small vertebrates in virgin forest, but can adapt to rapid environmental change in areas of massive selective logging through behavioural modifications and broadening of food choices to include fruits, seeds, shoots, pith, flowers, cones, mesocarp, and other parts of many non [[Indigenous (ecology)|indigenous]] and [[pioneer plant]]s.<ref name=singh>{{cite journal |author1=Singh, Mewa |author2=Kaumanns, Werner |name-list-style=amp| date = 2005-10-10 | title = Behavioural studies: A necessity for wildlife management | journal = Current Science | volume = 89 | issue = 7 | pages = 1233 | url = http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/oct102005/1230.pdf}}</ref> In the forests of [[Kerala]] they were observed preying on nestling and eggs of pigeons.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Balakrishnan, Peroth | date = 2010-12-24 | title = Predation of eggs and nestlings of pigeons (Columbidae) by the lion-tailed macaque ''Macaca silenus'' in the Western Ghats, India | journal = Indian Birds | volume = 6| issue = 6 | pages = 167–168 | url = http://indianbirds.in/pdfs/Balakrishnan_Columbidae&Monkeys.pdf}}</ref>

==Population==
[[File:Lion tailed macaque with baby by Nihal jabin.jpg|thumb|Female lion tailed macaque with her infant]]
A recent assessment for [[IUCN]] reports 3000–3500 of these animals live scattered over several areas in [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Kerala]], [[Karnataka]].<ref>Molur S, D Brandon-Jones, W Dittus, A. Eudey, A. Kumar, M. Singh, M.M. Feeroz, M. Chalise, P. Priya & S. Walker (2003). Status of South Asian Primates: Conservation Assessment and Management Plan (C.A.M.P.) Workshop Report, 2003. Zoo Outreach Organization/CBSG-South Asia, Coimbatore</ref> The lion-tailed macaque ranks among the rarest and most threatened primates. Their range has become increasingly isolated and fragmented by the spread of agriculture and tea, coffee, teak and cinchona, construction of water reservoirs for irrigation and power generation, and human settlements to support such activities. They do not live, feed or travel through plantations. Destruction of their habitat and their avoidance of human proximity have led to the drastic decrease of their population.

From 1977 to 1980, public concern about the endanged status of lion-tailed macaque became the focal point of [[Save Silent Valley]], India's fiercest [[environmental movement|environmental debate]] of the decade. From 1993 to 1996, 14 troops were observed in [[Silent Valley National Park]], Kerala, one of the most undisturbed viable habitats left for them.<ref name=Ramachandran>{{cite journal |author1=Ramachandran, K. K. |author2=Joseph, Gigi, K. | year = 2001 | title = Distribution and demography of diurnal primates in Silent Valley National Park and adjacent areas, Kerala, India | journal = Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society | volume = 98 | issue = 2 | pages = 191–196 | url = http://eurekamag.com/research/010/482/distribution-demography-diurnal-primates-silent-valley-national-park-adjacent-areas-kerala-india.php#.Ty5aduUeDiF }}</ref> Silent Valley has the largest number of lion tailed macaque in South India. Other protected areas in Kerala include [[Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary]], [[Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary]], [[Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary]], [[Periyar Tiger Reserve]] and its premises ([[Gavi, Kerala|Gavi]] and [[Konni, Pathanamthitta|Konni]]), [[Eravikulam National Park]], [[Pambadum Shola National Park]], [[Parambikulam Tiger Reserve]], [[New Amarambalam Reserved Forest|Annaimalai Tiger Reserve, New Amarambalam Reserved Forest]], [[Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary]] and [[Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary]] and Wayanad region.{{fact|date=January 2020}}

A self-sustainable single population of 32 groups of lion-tailed macaques occurred in [[Sirsi, Karnataka|Sirsi-]]Honnavara, Karnataka, the northernmost population of the species.<ref name=singh04>{{cite journal |author1=Singh, Mewa |author2=Kaumanns, Werner |name-list-style=amp| date = October 2004 | title = Distribution and Abundance of Primates in Rain Forests of the Western Ghats, Karnataka, India and the Conservation of ''Macaca silenus''| journal = International Journal of Primatology | volume = 25 | issue = 5 | pages = 1001–1018 | doi = 10.1023/B:IJOP.0000043348.06255.7f|s2cid=30384142 }}</ref> A local [[census]] concluded in 2007, conducted in the [[Theni District]] of Tamil Nadu, put their numbers at around 250, which was considered encouraging, because until then, no lion-tailed macaques had been reported in that specific area.<ref name="Census 2007">{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2007/05/09/stories/2007050903360200.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070627142001/http://www.hindu.com/2007/05/09/stories/2007050903360200.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 June 2007|title=Nilgiri Tahr, lion-tailed macaque sighted in Theni district | location=Chennai, India |work=[[The Hindu]]|date=9 May 2007}}</ref> The species is also prominently found in the [[Papanasam, Tirunelveli|Papanasam]] part of the [[Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve]] of Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. Many zoos take part in breeding programs which help to secure the survival of this species. About 338 of these macaques are reported to live in zoos.<ref name=WAZA/> (In July 2021 [[Australia]]'s [[Rockhampton Zoo]] [[Animal euthanasia|euthanased]] Australia's last lion-tailed macaque after its companion died of natural causes.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-07-21|title='The right thing': Heartbroken zoo keepers euthanase nation's last lion-tailed macaque|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-21/last-lion-tailed-macaque-in-australia-euthanised-at-qld-zoo/100308576|access-date=2021-07-21|website=www.abc.net.au|language=en-AU}}</ref>)
However, it is no longer on ‘[[The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates]]’ list, after the international body compiling it determined that the local governments in southern India had acted positively to protect it.{{fact|date=January 2020}}

==See also==
* [[Rhesus macaque]]
* [[Gray langur]]
*[[Old World monkey]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Macaca silenus}}
{{Wikispecies|Macaca silenus}}
*ARKive – [https://web.archive.org/web/20060507173255/http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Macaca_silenus/ Images and movies of the lion-tailed macaque ''(Macaca silenus)'']
*Nature inFocus – [https://www.natureinfocus.in/animals/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-lion-tailed-macaques Lion-tailed Macaquesone (LTM)] - Things to know about one of the most unique primate species of the Indian subcontinent.
*The Knights of the Forest – [http://kalyanvarma.net/essays/ltm Photo-essay of the lion-tailed macaque]
* Documentary Film – A Call in the Rainforest – [http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/inspiration-for-the-film-a-call-in-the-rainforest/]
* Video of Lion-tailed Macaque – [https://vimeo.com/album/2669396/video/82678251 Save Earth Series – Lion-tailed Macaque]
*Lion-tailed Macaques slap the Indian giant squirrel and steal their food - BBC Earth YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZn2Y9E6TtI
{{C.Cercopithecinae nav}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q506518}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:macaque, lion-tailed}}
[[Category:Macaca|lion-tailed macaque]]
[[Category:Mammals of India]]
[[Category:Primates of South Asia]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Western Ghats]]
[[Category:Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1758|lion-tailed macaque]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus|lion-tailed macaque]]

Lion-tailed macaque - Revision history

imported>Billjones94 at 10:01, 30 August 2021