Symbols of India are monkeys. In India, huge flocks of macaques rule large cities. The sacred animal of India is the snake.

Order - Primates / Suborder - Dry-nosed / Infraorder - Apes / Parvoorder - Narrow-nosed monkeys/ Superfamily - Dog-headed / Family - Marmosets / Genus - Macaques

History of the study

Indian macaque, or bonnet macaque (lat. Macaca radiata) is one of the species of macaques.

The Indian macaque has been identified as separate species individuals of their monkey family back in the early 19th century - in 1812. However, until now, for more than two hundred years, there has been a debate about their further classification, since many believe that there are two more subspecies of these animals. However, no one can yet accurately determine and confirm the presence of such diversity, since even if there are other species, they live in very close connection with each other.

Spreading

Habitats of the species: mountainous rainforests India, sometimes go to cities.

Appearance

Adults, both male and female, have approximately the same height - from 40 to 60 cm. However, their sexual division can be distinguished differently external sign– proportionality of the tail. With the same body length, the length of their tails ranges from 55 cm (in females) to 70 cm (in males). The mass of primates of this species is small. So in females the weight is about five kilograms, and in males 7–8 kg.

The structure of the head of bonnet macaques has its own characteristics. They have a completely flat profile, and their skin is light brown. Also in its structure you can find cheek pouches, which is explained by their type of nutrition. As a rule, they store small plants and nuts in these compartments.

The color of the coat has a light brown tint and is almost uniform, as is its strong density.

Lifestyle

The ideal habitat for these animals is the tropical forests of India, which are located in mountainous areas. Slopes are most comfortable for these monkeys, which every now and then descend to the ground. They are diurnal animals and sleep at night on tree branches.

Indian macaques live in large flocks. Thus, on one branched tree located on a slope, a friendly family of up to 80 individuals can huddle.

The hierarchical system of relationships is based on maternal kinship. Young females remain in their native herd even after reaching sexual maturity, while males at this age are forced to leave the herd.

Nutrition

The macaque feeds on ripe fruits, leaves, insects, as well as crops on agricultural plantations - grains, rice, peanuts, coconuts and coffee beans.

Number

Thanks to such large communities, as well as the unpretentious nature of their habitat and animal protection measures in India, Indian bonnet macaques are not in danger of extinction in the near future.

In the Indian capital of Delhi - new guards of peace and life of citizens. These are tailed langur monkeys. No one but them can cope with the macaques, which Lately More and more people are being attacked.

Religion prohibits Hindus from harming these animals. But in nature everything is balanced, and it turned out that dangerous macaques are very afraid of long-tailed langurs and do not dare to approach them.

Elite suburb of New Delhi. Every day from 8 am to 5 pm there is a security guard named Sunil. He walks around the area, menacingly raising his two-meter tail and sometimes baring his fangs. His partner Anish tells how these inhabitants of the Indian jungle - langurs - were called into service.

“The authorities were looking for trainers for the captured monkeys. I trained him, we worked together and have been patrolling this territory together for several years now - he drives the macaques away from here, I drive away onlookers from him,” says the trainer.

The guard langur appeared in the area after the most famous man-monkey fight in India. On a beautiful glass balcony, a respectable man of about fifty was reading a newspaper. Suddenly a noise was heard, the owner was thrown from the second floor onto the asphalt, and he died on the way to the hospital. The dead man turned out to be the newly elected vice-mayor of Delhi, and the attackers were macaques.

This tragedy showed that macaques - dangerous neighbors even for the most senior Indian. Now in the center of Delhi alone the population of primates is about 20,000 animals - this is more than in many Indian national parks. Their home, the jungle, is increasingly crowded big cities, therefore, the red-faced monkeys, as they are called here, go to these largest cities for food, and the Hindus cannot refuse them this.

Monkeys in India are considered the earthly incarnation of the god Hanuman, and therefore are no less sacred than, for example, cows. They cannot be kicked out, beaten, much less killed; the monkeys can only be appeased. For example, a banana. And how then to deal with their invasion? Indian veterinarians came up with the idea of ​​forcing them to use protection. No kidding. We have to mix oral contraceptives into the macaques’ food, fortunately, human ones are quite suitable.

But is it because hormonal drugs roads, or because not all of them reach their recipients, the program was quickly curtailed. The fertility of primates has not decreased at all - in Delhi they began to raid the Indian Parliament and even visit the presidential palace, gnawing wires and throwing themselves at officials. Supreme Court stood up for civil servants and obliged the mayor’s office to find a new solution.

“There are 200-300 monkeys in my area. And they already know me by sight. They see me and run away. But I can’t relax and shut up even for a minute - they will attack. That’s why my voice dies every evening,” says Mahendr Harisankar.

And in the tourist city of Agra, monkeys turned everything upside down.

“We have a cage here. For people. Previously, there was none, and tourists came here in the afternoon heat and enjoyed the view of the Taj Mahal. Monkeys also came to steal food. Such encounters are a risk for tourists. They often end in bites,” says Restaurant owner Ankit Saraswat.

Indian doctors have found that monkeys can carry up to 40 infections. This rooftop restaurant, like many others in Agra, is deserted - few enjoy the view of the Taj Mahal from behind bars. And the owner can only joke, saying that the macaques have shown who is boss.

Russians purchasing tours to India should be very careful while on the streets of Indian cities. Tourists are rarely threatened local residents and even criminals and the police treat tourists more than kindly. In large Indian cities there are even special police departments that deal with all issues and problems of tourists.

The worst threat on the streets of Indian cities is macaques. It’s scary to imagine, but in Delhi alone there are more than 10 thousand of them, although of course, the number of street robbers is difficult to accurately determine, because they multiply quite quickly.

Monkeys in India are a sacred animal, and therefore beating, much less killing, them is strictly prohibited, both for local residents and law enforcement officers. According to Indian beliefs, the macaque is the earthly representative of the deity Hanuman, who is quite revered among Hindus. Moreover, Hindu traditions require treating all sacred animals on Tuesday and Saturday. Which, naturally, Indians do regularly. As a result, monkeys feel more than at ease on the streets of Indian cities.

Despite all the tricks of the tailed robbers, it is useless to complain about them, since the police do not react to their antics, and there are simply no other services in India that deal specifically with monkeys. Fully aware of their impunity, the monkeys are creating real “mayhem” on the streets of Delhi.

Monkeys are primarily interested in food supplies. Therefore, when they see something of interest to the monkeys in the hands of the townspeople, they do not hesitate to attack even people. As a result, the monkeys literally snatch packages, bags and other things from the hands of local residents. Moreover, attacks are rarely limited to the theft of food supplies, because they still need to be reached. And the teeth of Indian macaques are quite sharp. That’s why bags or other things torn to shreds are not uncommon.

Monkeys have no less attention to bright and shiny objects. Therefore, mirrors and photographic equipment should be used carefully so as not to attract the attention of four-legged primates.

Reports of incidents involving monkeys appear almost regularly. One of bright examples the outrages perpetrated by the monkeys resulted in ruin and disruption wedding ceremony. An Indian wedding is always accompanied by colorful costumes and a wild feast. Similar activity on one of the streets of Delhi attracted the attention of a whole troop of monkeys. As a result, food supplies were practically destroyed, clothes were torn, and the wedding was disrupted, and some guests needed health care, since wounds caused by the teeth and claws of monkeys can be dangerous.

Interestingly, almost everyone suffers from the monkey invasion - government and public institutions, police officers, local residents, as well as tourists. Therefore, while on the streets of an Indian city, you should not once again attract the attention of four-legged animals. And when coming into contact with them, you should be quite careful, as their bites are very unpleasant and painful.

India is an amazing source of forgotten culture and ancient traditions. All more people go to India to plunge into history, understand how people lived in ancient times, and why so many animals are considered sacred in India.

India is a land of vegetarians, and, probably, the main, but not the only sacred animal of India is the cow (6 letters). However, there is no ban on eating beef in the country and non-Hindus enjoy eating beef and even serve it in restaurants.

If you are asked name the sacred animal of India, there is a lot to be confused about here, since the elephant, monkey and even snake are considered sacred animals along with the cow in India.

The elephant is a sacred animal in India.

The elephant has become sacred for its hard work, it is like a personal crane, truck, tractor and personal vehicle in a family rolled into one. And the elephant also protected the home and was even used in wars as a ramming weapon or a tank, if you like, the role of elephants in wars is well written in this article.

Why did the monkey become a sacred animal?, it would seem difficult to understand, a crook that does not bring any benefit to the house, and yet the monkey is also a sacred animal for the Indians. You can understand why the monkey is considered a sacred animal by plunging into the Indian epic and remembering the wars between humans and monkeys.

By historical references In ancient times, on the territory of India there lived a people of intelligent monkeys, who were not inferior to people in knowledge and culture and even surpassed them in strength and intelligence. Look on the Internet about wars between people and monkeys, these are not fiction, but historical facts about more ancient civilizations that inhabited the territory of India in ancient times.

The sacred animal of India is the snake.

This representative of the animal world does not evoke sympathy from any person, only fear. And meanwhile the snake is also a sacred animal. In India there is a holiday of snakes, it is called, in my opinion, Nagapanchami - if I have not misinterpreted its sound, on this day it is customary to treat snakes with milk and rice, and flowers are brought to snake holes.

Why is the snake called a sacred animal in India? Apparently, this is also the history of human development in parallel with the intelligent branch of reptiles.

It is generally accepted that Hindi is spoken in India; encyclopedias write that Hindi is the most widely spoken language in the world. But, unfortunately, if you learn Hindi and go to India to travel, you will be very disappointed there - you will not be able to communicate in it, since Hindi is a generalized name for several thousand local dialects, and it is spoken only in the north of the country. You better teach English language, India has long been an English colony, and many residents still communicate in it.

India is a complex country - vibrant in its decorations, as wise as its history with sacred animals, with traditions and knowledge that have come from the depths of millennia.

The Indian macaque (lat. Macaca radiata) is a small primate from the monkey family (Cercopithecidae). His head is decorated with luxurious hair, reminiscent of a dark cap. It is also called the bonnet macaque or zati. The animal is not afraid of humans and due to the contraction natural environment habitat willingly settles near villages and temples.

In many regions it causes serious damage to farmers, destroying crops in fields and plantations. The monkey is easily tamed and has a relatively docile and curious character. It is often used for laboratory research, in captivity becomes strongly attached to its owner.

Spreading

The species is widespread throughout India. The largest populations are found in the coastal regions of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

Monkeys easily adapt to various landscapes, preferring wooded areas. In the north of the country they settle in mountain forests at altitudes of about 2100 m above sea level. In the lowlands they inhabit primary and secondary forests, bush and savannas. In many Indian cities they make a living by begging and stealing food supplies.

To date, 2 subspecies are known – M.c. radiata and M.c. diluta. The second subspecies is found on the southeastern coast of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It differs from the nominate subspecies in having a lighter belly.

Behavior

Indian macaques lead an active daily lifestyle, forming groups with an average size of about 30 individuals. Unlike many other primates, they have no obvious hierarchical division during fur preening. Even dominant males take great pleasure in looking for insects in the fur of their young fellow tribesmen.

Monkeys on vacation try to experience close physical contact with members of their own sex. Older animals demonstrate obvious care for the younger ones, trying in every possible way to cheer them up, console and caress them. Young individuals love to scream loudly and game form imitate attacks on each other. Dominant males take an active part in such games, even allowing children and adolescents to bite themselves.

Home lots are very large. The area of ​​holdings of one group can reach 50 hectares. Primates usually stay in their area for a long time and leave it only after a significant decrease in the food supply. Sites different groups, as a rule, intersect, but the meeting of two clans does not lead to aggression. Monkeys also coexist peacefully with langurs (Presbytis) and (Macaca Silenus).

Fruits occupy 47-53% of the total diet. In addition to them, the daily menu includes seeds, leaves and flowers of various plants.

Animal food consists of insects, small lizards and frogs. Macaques especially like the fruits of karanja (Pongamia pinnata), fig tree (Ficus carica) and large grasshoppers (Tettigoniodea).

Animals are busy searching for food during daylight hours. IN populated areas willingly feed food waste local residents.

Reproduction

Sexual maturity in females occurs at the age of 3-4 years, and in males at 4-6 years. IN northern regions range mating season passes in early spring, and in the rest all year round. Peak birth rates occur from February to April. Fertility of females depends on the abundance of food and social status.

Pregnancy lasts from 155 to 165 days. The female brings only one baby. Fathers do not take a direct part in raising their offspring and begin to show interest in them only after reaching adolescence. The cubs feed on mother's milk for 6-7 months.

Females give birth every 1-2 years and usually produce a total of about 5 babies. Menopause occurs at 27 years of age.

For the first six months, the cubs are inseparable from their mother, hanging on her back or paws. After finishing milk feeding, they learn to get their own food on their own, and in the second year they move on to independent existence. Females stay with their closest relatives, and mature males join other clans.

Description

The length of the body and tail of adult individuals is 40-50 cm. Weight is 3000-6000 g. Females are smaller and lighter than males.

The fur color is brownish, yellowish-brownish or olive-brown. The abdomen is lighter. Face reddish or flesh-colored, devoid of hair. There is no hair on the ears either.

Cheek pouches allow you to store and carry food. Their volume is approximately equal to the volume of the stomach. On the head there is a dark “cap” characteristic of this species. It is especially noticeable in sexually mature males.

IN natural conditions The life expectancy of Indian macaques rarely exceeds 18-19 years. In captivity good care it increases to 30 years.