Lion-tailed macaque  (Macaca silenus)

Lion-tailed macaques are increasingly rare, mainly as a result of the destruction of their forest home. Only 1% of the original habitat remains today due to widespread deforestation for timber, agriculture and development (4). This species persists in isolated pockets of remaining forest, which can lead to inbreeding depression, thus further threatening their precarious status (5). Additional threats come from hunting; they may be persecuted as crop pests and are often mistaken for Nilgiri langurs (Semnopithecus johnii) whose meat is erroneously believed to have medicinal properties (2) (4).

This species is one of the most endangered macaques in the world (4). International trade is banned by their listing on Appendix I of the International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and they are also protected by Indian law (7). Lion-tailed macaques are found in at least 21 protected areas (2), but they are the subject of few studies or conservation programmes (4). A large captive population has been developed in American and European zoos as part of a Species Survival Plan (SSP) and this population has the potential to be used in reintroductions should this become necessary (2).