The Kingdom of the Lion Tailed Macaque – Poorna Kedar (2019)

Lion Tailed Macaques is an endangered primate endemic to the Western Ghats of India with a restricted geographical range. Due to habitat loss and human pressures populations have been on the decline. The filmmaker Poorna Kedar has recorded these vulnerable primates at one of the critical habitats of this species near the town of Valparai.

India’s Western Ghats is an ecologically unique biodiversity hotspot recognized by the United Nations as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The exceptionally high level of biological diversity and endemism in this mountain chain represents some of the best representatives of non-equatorial tropical evergreen forests in the world. Natural history and evolution of the species in the sub-continent was shaped by the unusual geological history of the subcontinent.

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Separation of the Indian Plate from the Gondwana beginning from 120 million years ago lead to a long-term isolation of the subcontinent. During this isolation Indian plate moved from southern hemisphere into the northern hemisphere with an astonishing speed. While crossing the tropical belt it experienced a wide range of climatic changes. It stayed as an isolated landmass for more than 70 million years until it collided with Asia. The collision initiated the formation of the Himalayas. The Western Ghats remained as a prominent feature during the geological migration. Long-term isolation enabled evolution of a very high proportion of endemic species. Later when the contact is reformed the diversity became even more pronounced with migrants coming from Asian and African flora and fauna.

The Western Ghats have a fascinating influence on large-scale biophysical and ecological processes over the entire Indian peninsula. The mountains of the Western Ghats and their characteristic montane forest ecosystems influence the Indian monsoon weather patterns that mediate the warm tropical climate of the region, presenting one of the best examples of the tropical monsoon system on the planet. The Ghats act as a key barrier, intercepting the rain-laden monsoon winds that sweep in from the south-west during late summer.

The Western Ghats of southwestern India is one of the most densely populated of the 35 global biodiversity hotspots. Therefore, its forests face population pressure for timber and agricultural land. To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot, a region must contain at least 0.5% or 1,500 species of vascular plants as endemics, and it has to have lost at least 70% of its primary vegetation. Today only one-third of the Western Ghats’ natural vegetation remains in healthy condition. Remaining forests are highly fragmented and face increasing degradation.

Tropical forests rely heavily on animals for seed dispersal. The documentary briefly mentions importance of lion-tailed macaques in this ecosystem service. The behavior of storing food in their cheek pouch is also another distinct feature of these primates. The BBC wildlife service has documented a striking competitive inter-species interaction in this fascinating animals. The lion-tailed macaques use Indian giant malabar squirrels (Ratufa indica) to locate ripe jackfruits and bully them out with face slaps. These squirrels are known for their vibrant colored fur. Unlike other squirrels of the world they do not store food in larders underground. Their storage locations are high up in the forest canopy.