Grooming Bonnet Macaques
Grooming Bonnet macaques. A family of bonnet macaques, surrounded by fresh green vegetation in the montane rain forests of the Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu India.
Bonnet macaques are endemic to Southern India and are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. Primary threats include human-animal conflict in agricultural and urban areas, hunting and the exotic pet trade.
Grooming Bonnet macaques : About the Bonnet Macaque:
The bonnet macaque (Macaca radiata), also known locally as ‘zati‘, is a species of old world monkey endemic to southern India.
They can be found in evergreen high forests and dry deciduous forests throughout the Western Ghat Mountains. In the north, their natural range overlaps with the Rhesus macaque, with which these animals compete. They can be easily distinguished from the related rhesus macaques, by the a cap-like fur on their heads that points outward from the centre.
Bonnet macaques are omnivorous, feeding on a wide variety of foods including fruits, nuts, seeds, leaves, berries, flowers and foliage, supplementing this diet with bird eggs and various invertebrates. In areas where their territory is close to human settlements they rely heavily on food given by humans and regularly raid crops, temples and houses for food. This behaviour puts the macaques in serious conflict with humans and they are regularly killed or caught and sold into captivity.
You can find more about Bonnet Macaque’s here.