Date:17/12/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/12/17/stories/2004121705042000.htm

National

From the Himalayas, a new primate

By Aarti Dhar

NEW DELHI, DEC.16. Scientists believe they have discovered a new primate species — the Arunachal macaque — in the mountainous regions of Arunachal Pradesh, in the Himalayan region. The discovery of Macaca munzala will soon be announced in The International Journal of Primatology.

The Arunachal macaque was detected in 2003-04 during biological expeditions into western Arunachal Pradesh. The monkey is stockily built and has an unusually dark face. People in Tawang and West Kameng, where it is found, have long known it as a species that occasionally raids their crops but largely keeps to the forests.

The last description of a macaque — the Pagai — was made in Indonesia over a century ago (Miller in 1903), and nearly five decades have passed since a large mammal new to science was reported from India. In 1956, Gee reported the Golden langur from India.

The latest detection is claimed to have been made by a group of scientists from the Mysore-based Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) and its partner organisations, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the International Snow Leopard Trust and the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS). The team comprised Anindya Sinha, Aparajita Datta, M.D. Madhusudan and Charudutt Mishra.

Widely distributed

Macaques are a large, diverse group of old world primates (19 species in Asia, one in Africa), second only to humans in their wide geographical distribution. The Arunachal macaque is in all probability a close cousin of both the Assamese and Tibetan macaque.

The Arunachal macaque is among the highest-dwelling primates in the world, occurring between 1,600 and 3,500 metres above sea level.

Protection measures

Ongoing studies at the NCF and the NIAS are examining the primates' behaviour and ecology, as well as survival threats to the species. If warranted, its inclusion in the list of threatened species and the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 will be considered.

The expeditions to Arunachal Pradesh were funded by the Netherlands-based Van Tienhoven Foundation and the U.K.-based Rufford Maurice Foundation and carried out with the local support from the Arunachal Pradesh Forest Department.