Black body,a mane like a lions,small short tail,tail that also resemble a lion’s,…so goes the similarities between the name and the monkey.Watching from a distance it almost look likes a black lion cub in trees….In many things lion tail macaque’s differ from their relatives.Among the monkey species,lion-tails are one of the most oldest groups of macaque’s(Macaqa Cinelus).
They mostly give birth to one offspring at a time,but twins have rarely been reported.Lion-tail’s milk their offspring for about 12 to 18 months,they reach adulthood by about 2.5 to 4 years.avg. lifespan of a lion-tail in the wild is 25 years,but in captivity they have been known to reach 38 years.Like most other monkey groups,lion-tails move as a group.Avg. number of members are 20 but groups up to 43 have been found.There may be one to three adult males in a group.the ratio of male to female in lion-tails have been found to be 1:5.when observed closely you may notice the “social hierarchy” present between individuals of a group.
They usually make a low sound,like “ku.. ku..’ to communicate with each other.they usually have a roaming territory of 5 to 6 trees,usually dwelling above a height of 25m.They use diversional tactics to ward of enemies.The most talented males play decoy for the rest of the pack to run to safety.They are preyed on by tigers,leopards and pythons.Lion-tails are the most intimate friends of evergreen forests(western ghats) it seems.they are mostly seen in “non-human” areas of forests,in regions of Karnataka,Tamil nadu and Kerala.Their concentrations are mostly in Silent valley of Kerala and kalakadu-Mundanthuri tiger reserve(Asambu hills) of Tamil nadu.And so,these forests are of utmost importance to their survival.
The largest number of individuals of lion-tails are found in Kerala’s Silent valley-Attapadi reserve-new Amarambalam reserve(a chain of rain forests),about 2000 individuals.Their dietary habits are quite different from other monkeys.It mostly consists of fruits,nectar of flowers,small insects etc.Under advanced studies it is revealed that they depend on 92 trees and plants for survival.
One could say that lion-tails have become an indicator for a healthy rainforest.They are one of the most '”tree dwelling”among all the monkeys in the world.Studies conducted from 1993,of a lion-tail group revealed that out of 15000 sightings for 5 days(every month) for 5 years,only 7 sightings were reported to be on land.
We have to conserve the forests to ensure the existence of this wonderful creature or its “lion-tail were..” in future….
