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Of Least Concern? Range Extension by Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta) Threatens Long-Term Survival of Bonnet Macaques (M. radiata) in Peninsular India

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Abstract

Rhesus and bonnet macaques are the 2 most common and widely distributed of the 8 macaque species of India. Rhesus macaques are widely distributed across southern and southeastern Asia, whereas bonnet macaques are restricted to peninsular India. We studied the current distributional limits of the 2 species, examined patterns of their coexistence in the interspecific border zones, and evaluated losses in the distributional range of bonnet macaques over the last 3 decades. Our results indicate that whereas rhesus macaques have extended their geographical range into the southern peninsula, bonnet macaques have been displaced from many areas within their former distributional range. The southern and the northern distributional limits for rhesus and bonnet macaques, respectively, currently run parallel to each other in the western part of the country, are separated by a large gap in central India, and converge on the eastern coast of the peninsula to form a distribution overlap zone. This overlap region is characterized by the presence of mixed-species troops, with pure troops of both species sometimes occurring even in close proximity to one another. The range extension of rhesus macaque—a natural process in some areas and a direct consequence of introduction by humans in other regions—poses grave implications for the endemic and declining populations of bonnet macaques in southern India.

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Acknowledgments

This study was made possible by a fellowship granted to R. Kumar by the Central Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Government of India, and the fieldwork was partially supported by a research grant awarded to A. Sinha by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, New Delhi. We thank the Forest Departments of the states of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra for research permits and their logistic help in the field. We thank M. K. Ganguly, A. K. Ganguly, C. Srinivasulu, M. S. Chaitra, T. R. Shankar Raman, D. Mudappa, D. Chakraborty, and U. Ramakrishnan for their help during the course of this study and R. Raghunath for his help in preparing the figures. Finally, we thank Oliver Schülke and 2 anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on earlier versions of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecology, Behaviour and Conservation Programme and School of Natural Sciences and Engineering, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bangalore, 560012, India

    Rishi Kumar, Sindhu Radhakrishna & Anindya Sinha

  2. The Primate Programme, Nature Conservation Foundation, Gokulam Park, Mysore, 570002, India

    Anindya Sinha

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  1. Rishi Kumar
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Correspondence to Anindya Sinha.

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Kumar, R., Radhakrishna, S. & Sinha, A. Of Least Concern? Range Extension by Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta) Threatens Long-Term Survival of Bonnet Macaques (M. radiata) in Peninsular India. Int J Primatol 32, 945–959 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-011-9514-y

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