Lion-tailed macaque

Subject: Environment

Context:

Lion-tailed macaque (Macacasilenus), a primate endemic to Western Ghats continues to be in the ‘endangered’ category in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Concept:

• The latest conservation status of the primate was updated in the IUCN database recently based on technical reports over the years from a group of researchers
• As per the technical report, the total wild population of the lion-tailed macaque (LTM) could be about 4,000 individuals consisting of less than 2,500 mature individuals, made up of 47 isolated sub-populations in seven different locations in the three States.
• The population is expected to suffer an estimated decline of over 20% in the next 25 years due to varied reasons including hunting, roadkills and habitat loss, it said.
• Though the conservation status of the LTM had improved from ‘endangered’ in the first assessment in 1990 to ‘vulnerable’ in 1994, its status has remained endangered since 1996.

Endangered species:

• Species are at a very high risk of extinction as a result of rapid population declines of 50 to more than 70% over the previous 10 years (or three generations), a current population size of fewer than 250 individuals, or other factors