Kala Bandar - The Mystery Macaque Of Uttarakhand

We drove 17 hours straight to Baram, a small village on the banks of the Gori river in the Askot Musk Deer Sanctuary and began our search for an elusive, almost mythical macaque. Three months earlier, in April 2006, Dr. Chandola, Dr. G.S. Rawat, Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun and Dr. Naithani, Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, had spotted a macaque during their floral survey in the Gori valley. Locally known as ‘kala bandar,' it appeared different from the commonly found rhesus macaque, the only macaque species known in Uttarakhand.  They managed to take a few photographs of this macaque that confirmed their initial analysis that this was a different species which convinced us to embark on an exploratory journey to track, identify and study the macaque.

MYTH OR REALITY

Throughout the first day we kept a look out for the macaque and spoke to villagers in the Gori valley between Baram and Jauljibi to better understand the macaque's whereabouts and movements. Some spoke in awe of a mythical creature with a black body that no one had seen
while others spoke of a macaque with a dark-coloured face. Almost all described the macaque as so aggressive that it could even scare off the ferocious hill dog.

We spoke to the Van Rajis, a tribe with extensive knowledge of this forest. They believed that the macaques lived high up in the mountains during the summer. The possibility of sighting them seemed very small but, as luck would have it, we met Murali Dhar Bhatt, an experienced and knowledgeable forest guard in the Dharchula range, who offered to help us find a troop. After spending the night at Baram, we left Gori valley early in the morning and drove towards the Kali river, took a detour to Gueeyan, a small village six kilometres from Balwakot and from there started our uphill trek to Thor village.

What an interesting day it was! The sky was blue and clear. A kilometre into our walk, we saw huge trees of Diploknema butyracea (chiura) loaded with sweet, ripened fruit and on their branches, our mystery macaques were feeding, jumping, caressing, fighting and playing in the early morning sun. We could hardly believe our good fortune! Out came our binoculars, spotting scopes and cameras in a jiffy, to see them up close and to capture them on film. They were certainly not hanuman langurs or rhesus macaques, the only two non-human primates known to occur in the area. However, they did resemble the Assamese macaque.

   

Interestingly, in 1948, S.H. Prater had mentioned the occurrence of the Assamese macaque in Mussoorie and eastwards in his book The Book of Indian Animals. Fooden, an authority on macaques, had discounted the occurrence of this macaque  in Uttarakhand in 1982 and stated that it occurs only eastwards of central Nepal. The report of the South Asian Primates Workshop, 2003 had stated that the Assamese macaque has three populations, namely Macaca assamensis assamensis in Northeast India and Bangladesh, Macaca assamensis pelops in Sikkim, Bhutan, eastern Assam and northern West Bengal and Macaca assamensis (Nepal population), considered a separate sub-species occurring east of central Nepal. We knew that more studies would have to be done to confirm whether the species we were observing was a new or existing sub-species of the Assamese macaque or an entirely new species, but either way we would be recording something hitherto unknown.

GETTING TO KNOW THE BANDARS

We spent an entire day tracking, observing and photographing the macaques. On returning to Dehradun, we analysed the data over several months and came up with some interesting facts. We discussed our findings with Dr. Anindiya Sinha of the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Campus, Bengaluru (he is popularly called Rana!). An authority on macaques in India, he is credited with discovering the Arunachal macaque. He helped provide a lot of perspective on shaping our future studies on the macaque.

Using field notes and photographs, we began to better understand the morphology of the Uttarakhand macaque. It is a medium-sized monkey with a golden-brown dorsal coat colour on the upper half and a chocolate-brown coat on the lower half of the body while the ventral parts of the body and inner sides of the limbs, as well as tail, are clothed with whitish fur. Its face is prognathic, i.e., the jaw projects forward. Males have a dark face with light colour spectacles around the eyes, while females have red spectacles as well as pinkish bare skin around the mouth and nose. Its forehead and cheeks are thickly covered with fur, the side whiskers are golden-brown while the beard is heavy and white. There is a band of black hair on the forehead just above the pale spectacles in the male while it is white in the female. The crown hair seemed to be combed backwards in adults but there is an indication of central parting in some sub-adults. They have a hump on their back while walking and their tails never droop. Ears are pointed and hairless while the eyelids are white. They have large cheek pouches. The underside of hands and feet are dark. The rump has two white lobes, without a patch of bare skin. One important comparative feature in the macaques is the relative tail length. This macaque has a tail length about three-fourths its body size.

 

In current taxonomic studies, species identification is not complete without DNA analysis. We carried out more surveys and visits to the area to get the necessary genetic material. The analysis is a work in progress but the initial results indicate that it belongs to the sinica species-group of the genus. This macaque closely resembles the pelops sub-species of the Assamese macaque Macaca assamensis pelops as evident from its morphological features but this must be confirmed genetically. However, from an evolutionary perspective, it is likely that the kala bandar has a close genetic affinity to the Assamese macaque and newly-discovered Arunachal macaque.

WHERE AND HOW THEY LIVE

While the DNA analysis was being carried out, we wanted to know more about the ecology of these macaques. We had sighted them in the altitudinal range of 900 to 1,300 m. but locals reported the seasonal occurrence of the species up to 2,750 m. at Kalamuni near Myunsari.  They were most commonly found in subtropical broad-leaved montane forest but also seen in degraded open scrub forest in the vicinity of human settlements. They seemed to spend considerable time on steep rocky slopes. During the day, they were seen foraging in thick forested areas, stunted shrubby vegetation on cliff faces as well as agricultural fields. In the night, they often retired on rocky cliffs with large boulders and dense shrubby undergrowth.

These macaques are both arboreal and terrestrial as they were seen feeding and resting both on trees and on the ground. However, they prefer to sleep on cliff rocks at night. Their troop size varies from 10 to 20 individuals comprising a small number of adult males and many adult females, sub-adults and infants. The whole group moves and rests together dispersing loosely while feeding. Their social bonding seems to be strong and they groom, cuddle and fondle each other while resting. While the macaques are aggressive to creatures alien to their group, such behaviour within the group is rare. They were observed feeding and resting in the company of langurs but scared away rhesus macaques effortlessly.

INTERACTION WITH HUMANS

Uttarakhand macaques appeared to be tolerant of the most dangerous of primates - humans - as long as the interaction was not too close. Some troops were observed regularly near villages and have been raiding agricultural crops frequently. But they have better ethics than the rhesus and are no kitchen food thieves. Their interaction with humans was limited solely to the agricultural fields.

Hunting of these macaques didn't seem to be prevalent. But these animals are threatened by habitat degradation. As revealed by our discussions with the villagers of Gueeyan, the crop-raiding behaviour of these macaques is on the rise. A few years ago, they would only raid fields during the maize crop season but now they visit the fields throughout the year. It was observed that a major portion of their habitat has been invaded by the weed eupatorium (kala baansa), thus reducing the biodiversity of the area. Perhaps, the increased conflict with the villagers can be attributed to the expansion of eupatorium in their habitat and resultant reduction in diversity of ground flora, which would have otherwise supplemented their diet.

Chiura, which fruits in summer and flowers in winter, forms an integral part of their diet. Moreover, its dense and extensive canopy provides shelter and a resting site to the macaques. However, due to excessive lopping and practically no regeneration due to other anthropogenic factors, this tree is under local threat. It is extremely important to take measures for the protection and further propagation of this species so that the habitat of this macaque can be strengthened. Traditionally, this tree has been used to prepare jaggery from fruit pulp and butter from fruit kernels. Saving this tree would not only help macaques but also strengthen the economy of the local communities.

In a nutshell, increased crop raiding as well as habitat degradation and habitat shrinkage are major causes of concern for this species. For the protection of this species and to reduce human-animal conflict, which is already on the rise, it is imperative to conserve the whole landscape. The chiura tree, an important element of its habitat, should also be protected.

Though five years have passed since the discovery of this macaque and its foray into our lives, there is still much to be done. It is of utmost importance that its taxonomic identity be established as soon as possible. Its distribution, population status, demography and ecology should be further determined as greater knowledge will help us effectively address the conservation needs of this macaque that is yet to be named.

 

It is truly amazing that even in this era, previously unknown species of large mammals are being discovered, not in some deep dark forest but right in the middle of human settlements. It just tells us how little we know about nature and how careful we need to be with the treasure trove of biodiversity we have been blessed with. We will continue our studies on the kala bandar hoping to give it a secure future in the hills of Dharchula in the Askot Musk Deer Sanctuary and help it to survive for generations to come.

By Amit and Neha Verma, Sanctuary Asia, Vol XXXI No. 6, December 2011