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Source: The post is based on the article “Altitude decides simian attitude to diet” published in The Hindu on 11th November 2022.
What is the News?
A study has found that different elevations of habitation make one group of Himalayan Gray Langur prefer fruits and another group feeds on flowers.
About Himalayan Gray Langur
Himalayan Gray Langur or the Chamba Sacred Langur (Semnopithecus ajax) is a colobine, meaning leaf-eating monkey.
It was once considered a subspecies of the Semnopithecus entellus, commonly known as the Bengal Sacred Langur or Hanuman Langur, but it was separated as a species in 2005.
It is considered an endangered species globally as its population is estimated to be less than 1,500 mature individuals in 15-20 groups.
Habitat: They inhabit areas between 2,200-4,000 metres above mean sea level in the subtropical, tropical moist temperate, alpine, coniferous and broadleaved forests and scrublands.
Geographical distribution: In the Indian Subcontinent, their distribution is reported from Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and from Pakistan and Nepal.
Characteristics: The Himalayan Grey Langur is normally confused with other species of langurs but can be easily identified by its larger size and outer sides of both the fore and hind limbs which are covered with silvery-dark coloured hair.
What was the study conducted by the researchers?
Researchers studied the diet composition of five groups of Himalayan Grey Langur in and around the Kalatop-Khajjiar Wildlife Sanctuary in Himachal Pradesh. They especially concentrated on two groups, one inhabiting the Kalatop forest and the other based in the Khajjiar forest.
The domains of the two groups were only 208 meters apart but the altitudinal gap made a huge difference.
For instance, the study found that different elevations of habitation make one group of Himalayan Gray Langur prefer fruits and another group feeds on flowers.
