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Thakur Paramjit on rhesus macaque which is a favoured animal for conducting scientific experiments due to its social nature
Rhesus macaque shows the typical squat thickset build of a macaque. The hair on the crown radiate backwards from the forehead without the neat centre-parting, which its cousin in South India sports. It can be distinguished from other Indian monkeys on the account of presence of orange-red fur on its loins and rump. It prefers to live in open country or the outskirts of the forest. A seated male measures about two feet while a female is about one-and-a-half feet high. The weight of a male varies from seven to 10 kg while the female tips scale at five to six kg. Size and built varies from area to area, with inhabitants of western Himalayas being the largest and heaviest. A favourite animal for conducting scientific experiments, it has been captured and exported in large numbers, resulting in the dwindling of its population in certain areas. Social in nature, it lives in groups called troops. Each troop is headed by a huge male with a specific territory. Each troop is further divided into sub-groups, each headed by one or two male members. Usually they feed on ground, eating plants, insects and spiders. They equally relish grams, chapattis and other eatables.
Like other wild animals, its fur provides protection against the winter chill. The fur is longer and heavier among those living in the Himalayas. Some of these pass their winter in pine forests at 8000 feet above the sea level. They are also expert swimmers, capable of swimming both on the surface as well as under water. Rhesus macaque lives in a male-dominated society. Mating occurs in all months, except March. However, the number of couplings increase manifold from October to December. March to June is the major breeding season. A secondary post-monsoon breeding season has been observed in September-October. Rhesus macaque has earned a place in the folklore and Jataka tales too. Its figure has also been carved in certain sculptures depicting the life of Buddha. In the field of modern medicine, they have played a crucial role. |
The
word "bandar" conjures up the image of an agile and naughty
creature — an entertainer par excellence. The commonly found monkey in
North India is rhesus macaque. Its troops are found in villages and
towns, usually near tanks and temples.
A monkey has pouches on
the inner side of its cheeks where it temporarily keeps the food while
grabbing it in large quantity. Its troop freely mingles with that of
langur and both feed together peacefully.