Hunting of Indian giant squirrel (Ratufa indica) by the lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus) in the Western Ghats, India

In most primate species, with the exception of Colobinae and Indriidae, faunal prey constitutes a significant portion of the diet super(1). The prey mainly includes arthropods and small vertebrates. The type of prey species varies with the body size of the primate species, with small-bodied primates...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current science (Bangalore) 2008-12, Vol.95 (11), p.1535-1536
Main Authors: Sushma, H. S., Singh, Mewa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arthropoda
Arthropods
Colobinae
Coniferous forests
Deciduous forests
Diet
Indriidae
Lacertilia
Macaca
Macaca silenus
Male animals
Monkeys
Pan troglodytes
Papio
Predation
Primates
SCIENTIFIC CORRESPONDENCE
Squirrels
Vertebrates
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Summary:In most primate species, with the exception of Colobinae and Indriidae, faunal prey constitutes a significant portion of the diet super(1). The prey mainly includes arthropods and small vertebrates. The type of prey species varies with the body size of the primate species, with small-bodied primates such as prosimians feeding mainly on insects. The relatively large-bodied primates included small vertebrates such as lizards, birds, small mammals, etc. in their diet. Occurrence of larger vertebrate prey such as hare, fawn of antelopes and other species of monkeys has been reported in the diet of large-bodied primates such as chimpanzees and baboons. Consumption of large vertebrate prey has also been reported in capuchins. Hunting, in terms of pursuit, capture and consumption of large vertebrate prey, has been well documented in chimpanzees, baboons and capuchins. Most macaques have an omnivorous diet with varying proportions of fruits, leaves, flowers, arthropods and, to some extent, small vertebrates. The lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus) is an endangered species endemic to the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats, India. Its diet mainly consists of fruits, arthropods, flowers and other minor items such as moss, mushroom and grass. The Indian giant squirrel is a large, diurnal, arboreal squirrel. It is widely distributed in peninsular India and occurs in the Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats and Central India. The squirrel inhabits mainly moist deciduous, riverine and evergreen forests. Average body weight of an adult squirrel is about 2 kg with a body length of 35-41 cm and tail length of about 60 cm. Here we report an incident of predation on a sub-adult Indian giant squirrel (Ratufa indica) by an adult, male, lion-tailed macaque.
ISSN:0011-3891