Endangered Primates of India

India is home to a variety of endemic threatened primates, many of which are classified as Endangered. They are discussed here:

Hoolock Gibbon

Hoolock Gibbons are lesser apes and are the only apes found in India. They are the second largest of the Gibbons after Siamang. There are three Hoolock Gibbon speocies. They are Western Hoolock Gibbon, Skywalker Hoolock Gibbon and Eastern Hoolock Gibbon. Both the western and eastern hoolock gibbon subspecies are listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Western Hoolock Gibbon – Endangered

The western hoolock gibbon inhabits tropical forests in patches all over Northeast India, east and south Brahmaputra river and also along Myanmar and Bangladesh. Only around 900 likely remain in India mostly in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

Eastern Hoolock Gibbon

The eastern hoolock gibbon occurs in southeast Bangladesh, northeast India and western Myanmar.  In India, Eastern Hoolock Gibbons are distributed between Lohit and Dibang rivers in Arunachal Pradesh.

Lion-Tailed Macaque

The lion-tailed macaque is an endemic rainforest primate only found in small forest patches of the Western Ghats. Just over 4000 individuals likely remain across their entire range. Habitat loss and their highly fragmented distribution has elevated their endangerment risk.

Gee’s Golden Langur

Endangered Around 6000 golden langurs inhabit a small region bordering Bhutan and the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in India. Continued deforestation poses the gravest threat to this brightly colored leaf-eating monkey. A significant population exists within protected areas in Assam.

Nilgiri Langur – Vulnerable

The Nilgiri langur is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and it is endemic to Western Ghats. It has a glossy, dark brown coat and long, thick golden to brown fur on the head. It inhabits tropical wet evergreen, semi-evergreen and riparian forests as well as teak plantations, at altitudes of between 300 – 2,000 m above sea level. This langur species form groups with one male and up to 23 females and young, who move through the forest eating the leaves of 102 plant species as well as some of their fruit, flowers and seeds.