Top 10 Species of Monkeys in Indian Subcontinent

India is a very diverse land in which habitats and areas are concerned such as grasslands, forests, deserts, and wetlands. It is home to diverse fauna, from venomous snakes to majestic elephants and tigers.  The country is home to a massive species of top monkey ranging from the lush, evergreen Western Ghats and peaks to the Himalayas in the northeastern states and including the dry central states and forests of mainland India.

Here are some of Top 10 Species of Monkeys in Indian Subcontinent :

Lion Tailed Macaque

The lion-tailed macaque, is one of the top 10 species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent. It is an Old World monkey endemic to the Western Ghats of South India. This medium-sized macaque may be recognized by a mane which is silvery white round its head and its hairy tail, which gives it its name.

 They are covered in black fur and have a striking gray or silver mane that surrounds their face which can be found in each sexes. Like other macaques, they have also deep cheek pouches beneficial for storing food and are quadrupedal with opposable digits. It inhabits dense rainforests, but it is quite rare.

The largest threat to the overall population of this species is the destruction of their rainforest habitat. In fact, the lion-tailed macaque is one of the endangered animals of India and one of the 25 maximum endangered primates in the world, according to the IUCN. 

Additionally, the Lion-tailed macaques are frequently killed because of being mistaken for Nilgiri langurs, which are commonly hunted for their meat that is falsely believed to have medicinal properties. Moreover it is one of the top species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent.

Crab Eating Macaque

The crab-eating macaque is one of the top 10 species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent. It is a cercopithecine primate native to Southeast Asia. The crab-eating or long-tailed macaque has one distinctive feature: males have mustaches while females additionally have facial hair in the shape of a beard. The frame fur of long-tailed macaques tends to be grey-brown to reddish-brown. 

They live in social groups that include 3 to 20 females, their offspring, and one or many males. Some of the habitats in which they have been found are number one forests, disturbed and secondary forests, and riverine and coastal forests of nipa palm and mangrove. These native monkeys of India devour crabs, however, they also feast on insects. In fact, crab-eating macaques are omnivorous animals, as they also feed on fruit.

 Crab-eating macaques inhabit rainforests, shrublands, and also mangrove forests, however they also can be found in temples and villages. Its IUCN status was changed from Least Concern in 2020 as a result of a declining population resulting from hunting and difficult interactions with humans, despite its wide variety and ability to adapt to different habitats. Overall it is one of the top 10 species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent.

Bonnet Macaque

Bonnet macaque is one of the top 10 species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent.  They are found in a variety of habitats, including evergreen high forests and dry deciduous forests of the Western Ghats Mountains. Their back is grayish-black in color, and they generally have long tails. Bonnet macaques have a whirl of hair radiating from the middle of the head.

They are grayish brown or golden brown in color. They have hairless faces, which appear pink in the females. Bonnet macaque has cheek pouches for storing food and narrow, down-facing nostrils. While her sense of odor appears to be less developed due to her slim nostrils, a bonnet macaque can depend on her sense of taste to confirm when the fruit is ripe and ready for consumption. 

They are fairly arboreal and are strong swimmers. They often inhabit temples in which travelers feed them or they take food offerings left at the feet of religious figures. They additionally raid close by houses, tourist buses, food stalls, backyard gardens, and massive trash piles for meals. 

Social grooming is a common behavior in bonnet macaques. The IUCN lists the Bonnet Macaque as Vulnerable and the main risk to them is likely to be a human-animal conflict in agricultural and concrete areas. No wonder it is one of the top species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent.  

Assam Macaque

The species of Assam Macaque is one of the top 10 species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent.  It is a group of monkeys that are native to Southeast Asia. They are also largely found in Assam that is how they get their name. 

These monkeys are yellowish-grey in color and have dark brown facial skin with a small tail. The hair at the crown is parted in the middle. The shoulders, head, and arms tend to be paler than the hindquarters, which are greyish. The tail is well-haired and short. They are diurnal, and at times both arboreal and terrestrial.

 They are omnivorous and feed on fruits, leaves, invertebrates, and cereals. Since 2008, it has been listed as near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, as it’s miles experiencing significant declines due to poaching, habitat degradation, and fragmentation. Moreover it is one of the top species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent.  

Pig Tailed Macaque

Pig tailed Macaque is one of the top 10 species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent. This is yet another species of monkey that can be located in the northeastern part of India. States like Tripura, Assam, Manipur, and Nagaland have a number of those monkeys. This species is also sometimes known as the northern pig-tailed macaque.

 They have a round greyish pelage from the side of their cheeks the entire manner round to the top of their head and beneath their chin, which is called a crown. They are frugivorous as they tend to forage for loads of fruit species along with fleshy and dry in addition to flowers and buds, piths, leaves, and shoot species that make up more than fifty percent of their diet. 

According to the ICUN red list, the northern pig-tailed macaque is considered inclined and declining. This species is affected by human impacts along with agricultural expansions, aquaculture, transportation infrastructure, hunting and logging for meat and trophies, and the illegal pet trade;\ which leads to habitat loss and forest fragmentation. Overall it is one of the best species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent.

Gray Langur

Gray langurs, also called Hanuman monkeys, are one of the top 10 species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent. The monkey’s local to the Indian subcontinent. Langurs are considered sacred in the Hindu religion and are sometimes kept for religious purposes through Hindu priests and for roadside performances. These langurs are largely grey, with a black face and ears. 

The entire distribution of all grey langur species stretches from the Himalayas in the north to Sri Lanka withinside the south, and from Bangladesh in the east to Pakistan in the west. They are fairly terrestrial, inhabiting forests, open gently wooded habitats, and urban areas on the Indian subcontinent. 

They are primarily herbivores. They also eat coniferous needles and cones, fruits and fruit buds, evergreen petioles, shoots and roots, seeds, grass, bamboo, fern rhizomes, mosses, and lichens. 

They can adapt properly to human settlements, and are found in villages, towns, and areas with housing or agriculture. They stay in densely populated cities like Jodhpur, which has a population numbering up to a million. Overall it is one of the top species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent.

Arunachal Macaque

The Arunachal macaque is one of the top 10 species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent. It is a lately located species of monkey native to India that can be found in the forests of the northeastern nation of Arunachal Pradesh. The Arunachal macaque was discovered as a species in 2004. 

In the local tongue of the Dirang Monpa people, it’s far called mun Zala, which means “deep forest monkey”. The Arunachal macaque is one of the most endangered monkeys in the country. These monkeys, similar to their Assam counterparts, have short tails and dark faces.

 They live in the top of mountain peaks in the northeast in fact, Arunachal macaques are one of the highest-dwelling top species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent.

RHESUS MACAQUE

The rhesus macaque is one of the top 10 species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent. It is the most common Old World primates, and it lives throughout a large percentage of the country. This species is Asian in origin and it’s far widely distributed in special areas and tiers throughout India, including Rajasthan, Varanasi, and Delhi.

 Rhesus monkeys can are living in city regions inhabited by humans along with wild and isolated forests. The rhesus macaque is brown or gray in color and has a pink face that is bereft of fur. It has, on average, 50 vertebrae and a huge rib cage. They are herbivorous, mainly consuming fruit, however, will also eat seeds, roots, buds, bark, and cereals.

 Like different macaques, the rhesus macaque is gregarious, with troops comprising 20-200 individuals. In the cities, these monkeys can be found chiefly in temples. The rhesus macaque is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and estimated to exist in large numbers it is tolerant of a large range of habitats, including city environments. That’s why it is one of the top species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent.

Stum Tailed Macaque

The stump-tailed or bear macaque is one of the top 10 species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent. It is located in the Brahmaputra river valley, extending to northeastern states and the Himalayan area of India. Its variety in India extends from Assam and Meghalaya to eastern Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura. 

It is a vulnerable species. Stump-tailed macaques have fur this is dark brown, shaggy thick, and a pinkish or reddish hairless. It is usually frugivorous but eats many sorts of vegetation, such as seeds, leaves, and roots, but also hunts freshwater crabs, frogs, bird eggs, and insects. Overall it is one of the top species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent.

Nilgiri Langur

The Nilgiri langur is one of the top 10 species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent. It is a langur a type of Old World monkey. It has sleek black fur on its body and golden brown fur on its head. It is similar in size and long-tailed like the grey langurs. Females have a white patch of fur on the inner thigh. 

This Old World monkey was found in the Nilgiri Hills of the Western Ghats in South India. Its variety also includes Kodagu in Karnataka, Kodayar Hills in Tamil Nadu, and many other hilly areas in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is likewise determined in Silent Valley National Park of Kerala.

 It is by and large frugivorous but eats many forms of vegetation, such as seeds, leaves, and roots, but also hunts freshwater crabs, frogs, bird eggs, and insects. Its diet consists of fruits, shoots, and leaves. 

The Nilgiri Langurs are searched for their skin to use for drums, and other parts of their bodies are used for traditional ‘medicine’, which has led them to be classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as there may be only 5,000 left in the wild. Overall it is one of the top species of monkey found in Indian subcontinent.

Conclusion 

As for the conclusion these are some of the top 10 species of monkeys. These monkeys are found all across India. Sum of them have become endangered according to IUCN list.