On the trail of lion-tailed macaques — acrobats of the Western Ghats

The Western Ghats is an abode of endemic fauna and flora Lion-tailed macaques are an endemic species to these mountainous ranges of tropical forests. They are highly dependent on rainforests to meet their food requirements. Further, being arboreal and restricted to the high canopy, they are dependent on forests for their movement. Destruction of their habitat is increasingly forcing these macaques to be in proximity to people. This has resulted in negative interactions, increased disease transmission and in general, affects the behaviour of these social primates.

Recent population assessments show that there are only around 3000–3500 individuals of lion-tailed macaques remaining in the wild, in few rainforest pockets of the Western Ghats. These remaining individuals are still threatened by fragmentation and habitat modification. Lion-tailed macaques are arboreal and use the upper canopy of large trees in their natural habitats to move, and in the past could hardly be seen using the ground. However, recent observations of increased use of ground near human-habitations, and increased movement in search of food ring alarm bells. In highly fragmented areas where roads cut across the species habitat, collision with vehicles results in high mortality risk. Together, how lion-tailed macaques survive in modified habitats will shape their long-term persistence. This makes it important to understand how the species adjust to these modified habitats and shared spaces, in light of human-induced environmental change.

Our Research Fellow Sikha Hariharan’s Ph.D. work involves examining how lion-tailed macaques range in human-modified landscapes. In natural forests, lion-tailed macaques are shy species and avoid human presence. In a changing scenario where lion-tailed macaques increasingly come in contact with people, through her Ph.D., Sikha is trying to understand the critical criteria these arboreal species use while navigating through these human-habitations. Sikha will assess this through a comparative study on two sites with different intensities of human disturbances. She will follow lion-tailed macaques groups, observing and recording their behaviour pattern in these two sites to find the requirements of the species.

Insights into lion-tailed macaques’ behaviour and ranging will be important in examining the potential for the species to persist in spaces they co-occupy with people. This will enable the devising of conservation strategies for long-term survival for the species. In addition, the field research Sikha proposes also gives her an opportunity to interact with residents living alongside rainforests that lion-tailed macaques inhabit. This will help in spreading awareness about this fascinating primate and their importance to the health of forests.