Species in Nepal - Hanuman langur (Presbytis entellus)

The gracile acrobat of forests

The Hanuman langur, also known as the grey or common langur, is at home in a forest canopy. It is more dependent on forests than the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta), also a resident of Terai.

Some rhesus monkeys have adapted to city life, searching for treats in tourists' handbags, but Hanuman langurs have all remained true forest dwellers.

Despite their agility, langurs also spend a lot of time on the ground. Their diet consists of a wide variety of vegetarian stuff like fruit, leaves, shoots, bark and so on.

Like other monkeys, the species is active during daytime and sleeps through the night. In the territory of a langur group, there is usually a favourite sleeping tree, where the group returns every evening.

Hanuman langurs are reminiscent of humans in several ways, one of them being their social flexibility. Langurs may live in groups comprising several adult males and females, but they are also seen in groups with only one male with several females, while the surplus males form groups of their own.