HIMALAYAN GRAY LANGUR - ENVIRONMENT
News: Altitude decides simian attitude to diet
What's in the news?
● Differences in altitude make a primate species in the same Himalayan habitat choose between flowers and fruits as food options beyond their staple menu of leaves, a new study has revealed.
Himalayan Gray Langur:
● Himalayan
(Kashmir) Gray Langur or the Chamba Sacred Langur (Semnopithecus ajax) is a colobine, meaning leaf-eating monkey.
● It was considered a subspecies of the Semnopithecus entellus or Bengal Sacred Langur or Hanuman Langur but got separated as an individual species in 2005.
Habitat:
● They especially concentrated on two groups, one inhabiting the Kalatop forest at an average altitude of 2,396 meters, and the other based in the Khajjiar forest at an average altitude of 2,188 meters.
Different diets:
● A study has found that different elevations of habitation makes one group of Himalayan Gray Langur prefer fruits and another group relish flowers.
Protection Status:
● Endangered
species in IUCN red list.
● Schedule II of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
Population:
● Globally, less than 1,500 mature individuals in 15-20 groups.
Protected habitats:
● Machiara
National Park (J&K)
● Dachigam
National Park (J&K)