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lion tailed macaque in india wildlife safaris monkey

January 1, 2026

Why the Lion-Tailed Macaque is a Photographer’s Holy Grail

Capturing the lion tailed macaque is vastly different from the high-octane tiger tracking you’ll experience at Tadoba National Park. While Tadoba offers the raw power of Central India’s predators, the Western Ghats offer a mist-shrouded mystery that requires a true photographer’s patience.

Recent 2026 research highlights a fascinating “stability” in the Sharavathi and Silent Valley populations, but with a twist: group sizes are shrinking. For us, this means smaller, more intimate troops to track on our expert led wildlife safaris. As an Australian with Indian roots, I’ve designed our wildlife safaris from Australia to India to bridge two worlds—combining the rugged, eco-conscious spirit of the Outback with the opulent, ethical luxury of India’s finest eco-lodges.

On our photography wildlife safaris, we don’t just “click and go.” We wait for the moment the macaque descends from the $40$-meter giant Cullenia trees. In the dappled rainforest light, their silver manes act like a natural reflector; I’ll teach you how to underexpose just enough to keep those highlights from blowing out while retaining the deep blacks of their fur.

Choosing an eco-friendly path is vital. Our tours support canopy bridge initiatives that prevent roadkill, ensuring that your presence directly funds the “green corridors” these primates need to survive. This isn’t just a holiday; it’s a high-end mission to document one of the rarest spirits of the forest. Whether you are a solo adventurer or joining our specialized women-only groups, you’ll find that the “lion of the canopy” leaves a much deeper mark on your soul than any trophy shot ever could.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LION TAILED MACAQUE!

Lion Tailed Macaque is also known as Wanderoo, which is an old world monkey endemic to the Western Ghats, which is situated at South India. The hairs of Lion Tailed Macaque are black, and soft as well. Its silver white mane is the main attraction of this macaque, which has surrounded the cheeks to the down chin. This feature of monkey gives it a German name “Barteffe”. The face of the monkey is black without hair. Its height is 42 cm to 61 cm, and its weight around 2 to 10 kgs. The tailed lion macaque is to be considered within the smaller macaques. The tail of the monkey is around 25 cm with a back tuft at the end of it. The tuft in male is more pronounced as compared to the woman. The young lion tail macaques are to be nursed for 1 year. The period of gestation is about 6 months. When it comes to the maturity time of lion tail macaques, the female macaques come at maturity at the age of 4 years.

On the other hand, the male attains their maturity at the age of 6 years. The life span of the lion tailed macaque monkey is 20 years and lasts up to 30 years. This is a magnificent creature, which is like a lion, long, thin, tufted tail. It is a fantastic creature, which is situated in the Western Ghats.

Habits and lifestyle of lion tail monkey Wanderoo

These lion tailed macaques are social creature, which forms the family units of 30, with an average of 10-20. Every group has a single male dominant; sometimes, there are an additional 1 or 2 adult males. The lion tailed male macaque, who is the dominant controls the breeding. The macaques used to travel in a group. They do not only travel in a group but also sleep together as well. The macaques are communicative enough with animals. These are diurnal creatures. The main thing, which distinguishes the macaques are, the male macaques usually define the boundaries of the homes by calls. The communication system of lion tail macaque is vocalized with 17 vocalizations. The lion tail macaques are good at communicating with each other through body languages also.

What about diet and nutrition of lion tail macaque?

The lion tailed Macaques are omnivorous animals. The macaques usually have a wide range of food items. The most they like to eat its fruits. The common food items to have by the lion tail macaque are leaves, flower, buds, stems, Fungi. As the macaque is omnivorous, it has lizards, insects, small mammals, little frogs, and other small creatures also.

Habits of Lion Tail Macaques

The Lion Tailed Male Macaques can make relation with one or multiple female macaques. These are polygynous. The birth rate of Lion Tailed Macaques is to be increased in the wet season. The sexual maturity attained by a female is 5, and in male is 8.

Hope you got to know enough about Lion Tailed Macaques. The Lion Tailed Macaques are getting abundant, so make sure to protect our creature.

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