HANUMAN MONKEY (GREY LANGUR)

HANUMAN MONKEY

Presbytis entellus, locally known as bander

This unmistakable monkey is a very common sight throughout the park. A slim light grey monkey with a long tail and expressive, black face (which often needs a pop of fill-in flash to photograph well).

They're far more arboreal than the other monkey of the park, the rhesus macaque. The spend a vast majority of their lives in the branches feeding on leaves, shoots, fruits, buds, and flowers. The macaques are more commonly seen on the ground grazing on vegetation.

Langur's are messy eaters, dropping a great deal of partially eaten fruit and vegetation to the ground where it is eagerly received by spotted deer and forms the basis of a well documented reciprocal relationship.

Both monkeys and chital are a major prey species of the leopards and tigers of Bandhavgarh. On sight, the monkeys emit a very loud, guttural, coughing alarm call that resonated for miles. Something that the park guides listen for intently.

Apart from the alarm call, another common sound of the jungle is the langur's whooping troop call. This is sometimes made when they greet each other, when they are announcing their presence and territory, or when they displaying high spirits or nervousness. Its often accompanied by bounding leaps from tree-tops and the shaking of branches.

Source: Bandhavgarh National Park: A guide by Hashim Tyabji.

RHESUS MACAQUE

RHESUS MACAQUE

Macaca mulatta, locally known as bander, lal mooh walla

The macaques are more often seen at the edges of the park in the open savannahs and scrub, anywhere where there is a good mixture of open grassland and trees. The stroll along the tracks and through the grass in large troops mingling with deer but rarely with langurs.

The macaques are squat, muscular, brown monkeys with a short stumpy tail and a pink/red face. Their most distinguishing feature is their bright pink/red loins and rump.

Macaques spend more time on the ground than the langurs feeding on vegetation, but supplementing this with insects and spiders.

Source: Bandhavgarh National Park: A guide by Hashim Tyabji.