Abstract
The feeding and ranging patterns of a troop of hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus, Colobinae) were studied in Kanha Tiger Reserve, central Indian Highlands for 1850 hr (1981–1982), in a mosaic of moist deciduous forest and anthropogenic meadow. The location, size, and species of each tree within the 74.5-ha troop annual range was known and the phenology of all tree species was sampled. According to scan sampling, the troop spent 25.7% of the daytime feeding, with range use concentrated on an island of dry deciduous forest. Whereas adjacent troops occupied only the periphery of the focal troop's range, all-male bands occupied its center, especially during takeover and infanticidal attacks. The troop consumed items from 60 of the 67 species of trees and woody climbers available; mature leaves (34.9% of feeding time), fruits (24.4%), leaf buds (10.6%), flowers and flower buds (9.5%), young leaves (3.6%), insects (3.0%), and gum (1%). The monthly utilization of fruit, open leaf buds, and flower buds is correlated significantly with their abundance, and the troop spent significantly more time feeding and less time moving when consuming mature leaves. Comparison of tree dispersion and langur ranging patterns suggests that the distribution of the most important food trees is a major influence on their range use.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Altmann, J. (1974). Observational study of behaviour: Sampling methods.Behaviour 48: 227–265.
Anderson, D. M. W., and Hendric, A. (1973). The structure ofLannea coramandelica gum.Carbohydrate Res. 26: 105–111.
Barnes, R. F. W., Tapper, S. C., and Williams, J. (1983). The use of pasture by brown hares.J. Appl. Ecol. 20: 179–185.
Bauchop, T., and Matrucci, R. W. (1968). Ruminant-like digestion of the langur monkey.Science 161: 698–700.
Bearder, S. K., and Martin, R. D. (1980).Acacia gum and its use by bushbabies.Galago senegalensis (Primates: Lorisidae).Int. J. Primatol. 1: 103–128.
Bennett, E. L. (1986). Environmental correlates of ranging behaviour in the banded langur,Presbytis melaophus.Folia Primatol. 47: 26–38.
Bennett, E. L., and Sebastian, A. C. (1988). Social organisation and ecology of proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus) in mixed coastal forest of Sarawak.Int. J. Primatol. 9: 233–255.
Chalmers, N. (1979).Social Behaviour in Primates. Arnold, London.
Clutton-Brock, T. H. (1972).Feeding and Ranging Behaviour of the Red Colobus (Colobus badius tephrosceles), Ph.D. thesis, Cambridge.
Clutton-Brock, T. H. (1975a). Ranging behaviour of the red colobus (Colobus badius tephrosceles) in the Gombe National Park.Anim. Behav. 23: 706–722.
Clutton-Brock, T. H. (1975b). Feeding behaviour of red colobus and black-and-white colobus in East Africa.Folia Primatol. 23: 165–207.
Cody, M. L. (1974).Competition and Structure of Bird Communities, Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.
Cotes, E. C. (1893).An Elementary Manual of Zoology Designed for the Use of Forest Officers in India, Office of the Superindent, Government Printing, Calcutta.
Curtin, S. H. (1980). Dusky and banded leaf monkeys. In: Chivers, D. J. (ed.),Malayan Forest Primates, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 107–145.
Davies, A. G., and Baillie, I. C. (1988). Soil-eating by red colobus leaf monkeys (Presbytis rubicunda) in Sabah, Borneo.Biotropica 20: 252–258.
Davies, A. G., Bennett, E. L., and Waterman, P. G. (1988). Food selection by two SE Asian colobine monkeys (Presbytis rubicunda and P. melalophos) in relation to plant chemistry.Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 34: 33–56.
Dolhinow P. (1972). The north Indian langur, In Dolhinow, P. (ed.),Primate Patterns, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York, pp. 181–238.
Freeland, W. J. (1979). Mangabey (Cercocebus albigena) social organisation and population density in relation to food use and availability.Folia Primatol. 32: 108–124.
Garber, P. A. (1987). Foraging strategies among living primates.Annu. Rev. Anthropol. 16: 339–364.
Getty, T. (1981). Territorial behaviour of eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus): Encounter avoidance and spatial time sharing.Ecology 62: 916–921.
Glander, K. E. (1978). Drinking from arboreal water sources by mantled howler monkeys (A. palliata Gray).Folia Primatol. 29: 206–217.
Grieg-Smith, P. (1983).Quantitative Plant Ecology, 3rd ed., Butterworth London.
Harrison, M. J. S. (1983a). Age and sex differences in the diet and feeding strategies of the green monkey,Cercopithecus sabaeus.Anim. Behav. 31: 969–977.
Harrison, M. J. S. (1983b). Patterns of range use by the green monkey,Cercopithecus sabaeus, at Mt. Assirik, Senegal.Folia Primatol. 41: 157–179.
Harrison, M. J. S. (1985). Time budgets of the green monkey (Cercopithecus sabaeus): Some optimal strategies.Int. J. Primatol. 6: 351–376.
Hladik, C. M. (1977). A comparative study of the feeding strategies of two sympatric species of leaf monkeyPresbytis entellus andPresbytis senex. In Clutton-Brock, T. H. (ed.),Primate Ecology, Academic Press, London, pp. 324–353.
Holmes, R. T., and Pitelka, F. A. (1968). Food overlap among coexisting sandpipers on northern Alaskan tundra.Syst. Zool. 17: 305–318.
Hrdy, S. B. (1977).The Langurs of Abu, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Isbell, L. A. (1983). Daily ranging behaviour of red colobus (C.b. tephrosceles) in Kibale Forest, Uganda.Folia Primatol. 41: 34–48.
Israel, S., and Sinclair, T. (1987).Indian Wildlife, Apa, Singapore.
Jacob, J. (1974). Quantitative measurement of food selection: A modification of the forage ratio and Ivlev's electivity index.Oecologia (Berlin) 14: 413–417.
Kankane, P. L. (1980). Studies on the hanuman langur (Presbytis entellus, Dufresne) at Kanha National Park, M. P.Proceedings Wildlife Workshop, Dehra Dun, pp. 61–71.
Koelmeyer, K. O. (1959). The periodicity of leaf change and flowering in the principal forest communities of Ceylon.Ceylon Forest. 4: 157–189, 308–364.
Kunkin, J. G. (1986). Ecology and behaviour ofPresbytis thomasi in N. Sumatra.Primates 27: 151–172.
Laws, J. W., and Vonder Haar Laws, J. (1984). Social interactions among adult male langurs (Presbytis entellus) at Rajai Wildlife Sanctuary.Int. J. Primatol. 5: 31–50.
Marsh, C. W. (1981a). Time budget of Tana River red colobus.Folia Primatol. 35: 30–50.
Marsh, C. W. (1981b). Ranging behaviour and its relation to diet selection in Tana River red colobus (Colobus badius rufomitratus).J. Zool. (Lond.) 195: 473–492.
Marsh, C. W. (1981c). Diet choice among red colobus (Colobus badius rufomitratus) on the Tana River, Kenya.Folia Primatol. 35: 147–178.
McKey, D., and Waterman, P. G. (1982). Ranging behaviour of a group of black colobus (Colobus satanas) in Douala-Eda Reserve, Cameroon.Folia Primatol. 39: 264–304.
Mitani, J. C., and Rodman, P. S. (1979). Territoriality: The relation of ranging patterns and home range size to defendability, with an analysis of territorality among primate species.Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 5: 214–251.
Moore, J. (1985a).Demography and Sociality in Primates, Ph.D. thesis, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Moore, J. (1985b). Insectivory by grey langurs.J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 82: 38–44.
Nagel, U., and Lohri, F. (1973). Die languren der Kanha-Wiesen. In Kurt, F. (ed.) Zoologisch-okologische Exkursion in den Kanha-Nationalpark (Indien).Viertejahresschr. Natur. forsch. Ges. Zurich. 118: 71–85.
Napier, J. R., and Napier, P. H. (1967).A Handbook of Living Primates, Academic Press, New York.
Newton, P. N. (1984).The ecology and social organisation of human langurs (Presbytis entellus,Dufresne 1797) in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Central Indian Highlands, D.Phil thesis, Oxford.
Newton, P. N. (1986). Infanticide in an undisturbed forest population of hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus).Anim. Behav. 34: 785–789.
Newton, P. N. (1987). The social organsation of forest hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus).Int. J. Primatol. 8: 199–232.
Newton, P. N. (1988a). The variable social organisation of the hanuman langur (Presbytis entellus), infanticide and the monopolization of females.Int. J. Primatol. 9: 59–77.
Newton, P. N. (1988b). The vegetation structure and phenology of a moist deciduous forest in the Central Indian Highlands.Vegetatio 75: 3–17.
Newton, P. N. (1989). Associations between langur monkeys (Presbytis entellus) and chital deer (Axis axis): Chance encounters or a mutualism?Ethology 83: 89–120.
Oates, J. F. (1977). The guereza and its food. In Clutton-Brock, T. H. (ed.),Primate Ecology, Academic Press, London, pp. 275–321.
Oates, J. F. (1986). Food distribution and foraging behaviour. In Smuts, B. B., Cheney, D. L., Seyfarth, R. M., Wrangham, R. W., and Struhsaker, T. T. (eds.),Primate Societies, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 197–209.
Oates, J. F., Waterman, P. G., and Choo, G. M. (1980). Food selection by the south Indian leaf monkey,Presbytis johnii, in relation to leaf chemistry.Oecologa (Berlin) 45: 45–56.
Oppenheimer, J. R. (1977).Presbytis entellus, the hanuman langur. In Rainier III, Prince, and Bourne, G. H. (eds.),Primate Conservation. Academic Press, New York, pp. 469–512.
Oppenheimer, J. R. (1978). Some aspects of the diet of the hanuman langur. In Chivers, D. J., and Herbert, J. (eds.),Recent Advances in Primatology, Vol. 1.
Rasmussen, D. R. (1980). Clumping and consistency of primates' patterns of range use: Definitions, sampling, assessment and applications.Folia Primatol. 34: 111–139.
Ripley, S. (1970). Leaves and leaf monkeys: The social organisation of foraging in gray langurs (Presbytis entellus thersites). In Napier, J. R., and Napier, P. H. (eds.),Old World Monkeys, Academic Press, New York, pp. 489–509.
Roonwal, M. L. & Mohnot, S. M. (1977).Primates of South Asia. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Rudran, R. (1978). Socioecology of blue monkeys (C. mitis stuhlmanni) of the Kibale Forest, Uganda,Smithson. Contr. Zool. 249.
Schaller, G. B. (1967).The Deer and the Tiger, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Siegel, S. (1956).Non-parametric Statistics for the Behavioural Sciences, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Srivastava, A. (1989).Feeding Ecology and Behaviour of the Hanuman Langur, Presbytis entellus, Ph.D. thesis, University of Jodhpur, Jodhpur.
Starin, E. D. (1978). A preliminary investigation of home range use in the Gir Forest langur.Primates 19: 551–568.
Struhsaker, T. T. (1975).The Red Colobus Monkey, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Sugiyama, Y. (1975). Characteristics of the ecology of the Himalayan langurs.J. Hum. Evol. 5: 249–277.
Sussman, R. W. (1977). Feeding behaviour ofLemur catta andLemur fulvus. In Clutton-Brock, T. H. (ed.),Primate Ecology. Academic Press, London, pp. 1–36.
Vogel, C. (1977). Ecology and sociology ofPresbytis entellus. In Prasad, M. R. N., and Kumar, T. C. A. (eds.),Use of Non-human Primates in Biomedical Research, Indian National Science Academy, Delhi, pp. 24–45.
Waser, P. (1977). Feeding, ranging and group size in the managabeyCercocebus albigena. In Clutton-Brock, T. H. (ed.),Primate Ecology, Academic Press, London, pp. 182–222.
Whitten, A. J. (1982). Home range use by the Kloss' gibbon (Hylobates klossi) on Siberut Island, Indonesia.Anim. Behav. 30: 182–198.
Winkler, P. (1988). Feeding behaviour of a food-enhanced troop of hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus) in Jodhpur, India. In Fa, J. E., and Southwick, C. H. (eds.),The Ecology and Behaviour of Food-Enhanced Primate Groups, Alan Liss, New York, pp. 3–24.
Wishart, D. (1982).CLUSTAN User Manual, Edinburgh University Programme Library Unit, Edinburgh.
Yoshiba, K. (1967). An ecological study of hanuman langurs,Presbytis entellus. Primates 8: 127–154.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Newton, P. Feeding and ranging patterns of forest hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus). International Journal of Primatology 13, 245–285 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02547816
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02547816