Semnopithecus schistaceus, Hodgson, 1840

Russell A. Mittermeier, Anthony B. Rylands & Don E. Wilson, 2013, Cercopithecidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 3 Primates, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 550-755 : 734-735

135.

Nepal Sacred Langur

Semnopithecus schistaceus

French: Langur du Népal / German: Himalaya-Hulman / Spanish: Langur de Nepal

Other common names: Central Himalayan Langur, Nepal Gray Langur

Taxonomy. Semnopithecus schistaceus Hodgson, 1840 ,

Nepal.

In his 1939 review of the Asian langurs, W. C. O. Hill placed the Himalayan forms hector, achilles, lanius, and ajax as subspecies of S. schistaceus . C. P. Groves in his 2001 Primate Taxonomy listed lanius and achalles as junior synonyms of S. schistaceus , but he considered hector and ajax sufficiently distinct as to warrant the status of species. Genetic analyses may yet indicate a revision of this arrangement. M. L. Roonwal separated gray langurs of South Asia into a northern group and a southern group based on tail carriage. S. schistaceusis of the northern group (Type IB), with the tail looping forward but held up above the back with the tip out-curved. Monotypic.

Distribution. NW Pakistan, N India (Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and NW Bengal states, and Sikkim), S China (Tibetan regions of Bo Qu, Ji Long Zang Bu and Chumbi Valleys in Xizang Autonomous Region), Nepal, and W Bhutan (E to Sankosh River); its presence in E Afghanistan is uncertain.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 58.4-76.2 cm, tail 75-99.1 cm; weight 17 kg (males) and 17-7 kg (females). Body measurements were taken from a sample in which the Terai Sacred Langur (S. hector ) and the Nepal Sacred Langur were considered synonymous. The Nepal Sacred Langur, along with the Chamba Sacred Langur (S. ajax ) and the Terai Sacred Langur, are reported to be the largest species of Semnopithecus , with some individuals weighing 20 kg or more. Coat of the Nepal Sacred Languris long and thick. It is sepia-brownish on back and outer limbs. Underside is white, and insides of limbs, rump, and tail tip are whitish. Whiskers around face are long and creamy. Nepal Sacred Langurs have bristle-like and lengthy eyebrows and a cream-hued crown, parted down the middle. Face is black.

Habitat. Subtropical to temperate broadleaved forest; semi-evergreen sal ( Shorea robusta, Dipterocarpaceae ) forest; alpine cedar forest; pine, riparian, and montane riparian forests; rocky outcrops; and scrub jungles in foothills of the Himalayas above elevations of 2000 m. Nepal Sacred Langurs have been observed at elevations as high as 3500-4000 m. Weather is highly seasonal, with harsh winters and rainy summers in July-October. Annual rainfall can be as high as 2500 mm.

Food and Feeding. The diet of the Nepal Sacred Langur is made up of 45-60% leaf parts (laminas, petioles, and buds) and 20% ripe, unripe, and herbaceous fruits. It also contains seeds, roots, vegetative storage organs, flowers, bark, cambium, twigs, mosses, lichens, coniferous cones ( Abies Pinaceae and Taxus Taxaceae ), epiphytic fern rhizomes, grass, young bamboo shoots, and invertebrates. Nepal Sacred Langurs prefer broadleaved, deciduous leaves (both young and mature) over evergreen mature leaves. Seasonal variation in their feeding behavior is pronounced. They feed on leaf buds and ripe fruits of Cotoneasterfrigidus ( Rosaceae ), fruits of Berberis aristata ( Berberidaceae ), and leaf buds of Sorbus cuspidata ( Rosaceae ), herbs, and pinecones in winter. In spring and summer, their diets are more diverse. They feed on acorns, pinecones, young deciduous leaves, and young leaf clusters of Zanthoxylem nepalense ( Rutaceae ), and young leaves and bark ofJasminum humile ( Oleaceae ). During the monsoon, they feed mostly on young deciduous leaves and fruits. In autumn,they frequently consume unripe fruit (particularly legumes), seeds, and fleshy ripe fruits. They feed on soft underground fleshy plant tissues, herb fruits, and herb leaves. They feed extensively on cultivated potatoes Solanum tuberosum ( Solanaceae ). At higher elevations, they feed on pinecones, bark, and twigs.

Breeding. Nepal Sacred Langurs have a birth season in late winter to early spring, allowing infants to grow sufficiently to survive their first winter in their montane habitats. Their independence is important for their mothers because they need to move long distances down slopes in the winter when it is snowing. Although Asian colobines, in general, wean their infants by the time they are one year old, Nepal Sacred Langurs have been found to have long interbirth intervals of c.25 months and generally wean their young only after becoming pregnant again; lactation may last ¢.26 months. Interbirth intervals are as short as 13 months if the previous infant dies. Mating increases in late spring (May). The menstrual cycle is not evident. Proceptive behavior by females is shown by presenting their anogenital region, with their tail lowered and simultaneously head-shaking. Copulation is always preceded by this behavior, but it does not always lead to mating. They mate throughout the year, and even pregnant females mate regularly, but sexual activity is highest in July-November, and the majority of conceptions (84%) occur in July-September. Females maintain a dominance hierarchy in the group, and the dominant male interrupts mating attempts by subordinate males.

Activity patterns. Nepal Sacred Langurs are diurnal and mainly terrestrial. They prefer the upper forest canopy but also go to the ground to travel over rocks and through open areas close to forests. When fleeing, they prefer to move through trees rather than along the ground,as is typical of species in more open habitats. They sometimes sleep on semi-barren cliffs at elevations of ¢.300 m or higher, taking advantage of their security and the radiant heat that rocks hold and the earlier sunrise that they receive.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Nepal Sacred Langurs live in multimale-multifemale groups of 4-47 individuals, with 1-4 adult males and a male-to-female sex ratio of 1:1-5—1-7. The meansize of five groups studied in 1972-1974 was 12-3 individuals. The same groups, and a sixth included in 1978, averaged 10-5 (resulting from a group splitting rather than a drop in population size). They also form all-male groups of ten or more, and males are sometimessolitary. Larger groups may split into dispersed subgroups, foraging separately while maintaining contact through intermittent calling by adult males. Annual home ranges of these temperate forest langurs are very large, 1275-12,700 ha, because they seasonally move up and down mountains. In mixed groups, there is a dominance hierarchy, and the dominant male frequently gives a deep contact call ("wao” or “ua”), which even in the thick vegetation makes him the constant center of attention. Subordinate and subadult males usually travel on the periphery of the group. The Nepal Sacred Langur does not “whoop-call” in morning choruses as is typical of the species living on the plains further south (e.g. the Bengal Scared Langur, S. entellus , and the Tufted Gray Langur, S. priam ). This may be because of the montane topography that renders such calling ineffective as a spacing mechanism. Female Bengal Sacred Langurs in conflict slap each other while sitting erect, face-to-face, but this has not been observed between female Nepal Sacred Langurs. Females have linear and stable dominance hierarchies, expressed by displacements. More dominant females maintain a better physical condition than lower ranking females. Infanticide following male takeovers has not been reported for Nepal Sacred Langurs, despite prolonged observations (32 months) in Junbesi-Ringmo between Kathmandu and the Nepal-Sikkim border.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix I. Classified as Least Concern on The [IUCN Red List (2008). The Nepal Sacred Langur is protected under Schedule I, Part I, Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, amended up to 2002, and the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1973 in Nepal (listed as a common animal in Nepal). It is known to occur in at least ten protected areas: Chail Wildlife Santuary, Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary, Dachigam National Park, Hemis National Park, Kanchanjunga National Park, and Karakorum Wildlife Sanctuary in India; Mount Everest Natural Reserve, Langtang National Park, and Makalu Barun National Park in Nepal; and Manshi Reserve Forest in Pakistan. Major threats to Nepal Sacred Langurs include habitat loss; habitat degradation due to loss offruiting trees; timber, firewood, and charcoal extraction; forestfires; and encroachment by people. They are hunted and sold as a dry-meat delicacy in Nepal and used in native traditional medicine in China.

Bibliography. Bennett & Davies (1994), Bishop (1979), Boggess (1980), Borries (1997), Borries, Launhardt et al. (1999), Borries, Koenig & Franz (2011b), Borries, Koenig & Winkler (2001), Groves (2001), Karanth (2010), Kirkpatrick (2011), Koenig (2000), Minhas et al. (2010), Molur, Brandon-Jones et al. (2003), Molur, Singh & Kumar (2008c), Oppenheimer (1977), Roonwal (1984, 1986), Roonwal, Prita & Saha (1984), Sayers & Norconk (2008), Vogel (1971).

Figures

132. Bengal Sacred Langur (Semnopithecus entellus), 133. Chamba Sacred Langur (Semnopithecus ajax), 134. Terai Sacred Langur (Semnopithecus hector), 135. Nepal Sacred Langur (Semnopithecus schistaceus), 136. Malabar Sacred Langur (Semnopithecus hypoleucos), 137. Tufted Gray Langur (Semnopithecus priam), 139. Nilgiri Langur (Semnopithecus john)

Distribution. NW Pakistan, N India (Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and NW Bengal states, and Sikkim), S China (Tibetan regions of Bo Qu, Ji Long Zang Bu and Chumbi Valleys in Xizang Autonomous Region), Nepal, and W Bhutan (E to Sankosh River); its presence in E Afghanistan is uncertain.