Lion-tailed Macaque
Macaca silenus
Distribution
The Western Ghats Mountains of Southwest India.
Habitat
Lion-tailed macaques are native to India only. They live in tropical rainforests and elevated mountainsides.
Our Lion-tail Macaques
We have a troop of 8 Lion-tailed macaques. Guinness is the adult male and leader of the group. There are 6 females ranging in age from 6 to 26 years. We also have a young male called Pip who is Guinness' son and is the most active of the group.
factfile
- They live in small groups of 4 to 30.
- These monkeys spend the majority of their time in trees or on high platforms.
- Cheek pouches allow them to collect large amounts of food at one time.
- Only 1% of their original habitat remains due to widespread deforestation for timber and agriculture.
- Lion-tails have up to 17 different vocalisations. These are combined with facial expressions and posturing to communicate within the troop
Biological Characteristics
The striking lion tailed macaque is one of the smallest macaque species. Their impressive mane of grey facial hair is present on by both males and females. Their diet consists mainly of fruit although they like to forage for young leaves, flowers, seeds, buds and mushrooms.
Status
