, . ' , , ELSEVIER 0006-3207(95)00131-X Biological Conservation 79 (1997) 97-106 Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Limited Printed in Great Britain. All fights reserved 0006-3207/97/$17.00+.00 MANAGEMENT OF THE RHESUS MONKEY Macaca mulatta AND HANUMAN LANGUR Presbytis entellus IN HIMACHAL PRADESH, INDIA Raghubir Singh Pirta Department of Psychology, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla 171 005, India Madhav Gadgil Center for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, India & A.V. Kharshikar Department of Statistics, University of Poona, Pune 411007, India (Received 7 May 1994; accepted 28 July 1995) Abstract The rhesus monkey Macaca mulatta and Hanuman langur Presbytis entellus are distributed all over the State of Himachal Pradesh, India. Although both species inhabit forested areas, only rhesus monkeys seem also to have become urbanized. There are about 200,000 rhesus monkeys and 120,000 Hanuman langurs. A three-year survey at Shimla showed an increasing trend in their pop- ulations. Potential threats to survival of these primates differ in the 12 districts. The two species differ in feeding and habitat preferences. People's feelings, perceptions and attitudes toward them point to an incipient man- monkey conflict and erosion of conservation ethics. A comprehensive management plan for these primates should be formulated, and involve local people. Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Limited Keywords: rhesus monkey, Hanuman iangur, popula- tion estimates, local management, Himalaya. INTRODUCTION Primate conservationists in India have to face a partic- ular dilemma. Rhesus monkeys Macaca mulatta and Hanuman langurs Presbytis entellus live in temples, cities, towns, villages, on roadsides, and in forests (Roonwal, 1977). They have been worshipped, provi- sioned and protected by the Hindus. Motivated by the green revolution incentives, villagers in India seem reluctant to share their crops with monkeys, but they still worship the image of the monkey god Hanuman Correspondence to: R.S. Pirta. Tel.: (91 )-0177-230862. 97 (Jolly, 1985). The success of any conservation pro- gramme for the primates will depend on resolving this dilemma. Keeping in view the need for monkeys in biomedical and other research (Prasad & Anand Kumar, 1977; Mack & Mittermeier, 1984; Roonwal et al., 1984; Bhardwaj, 1992), it is imperative to re-evaluate subjective protectionism in the light of adequate demographic and behavioural data from field studies. In certain localities where people consider these species as pests and field data also indicate increasing populations, planning should be oriented towards sustained-yield trapping strategies. Apathy towards damage to crops by the monkeys has engendered protests from local people in urban as well as rural areas (Anon., 1989; Kaushik, 1991), and the authorities have resorted to indiscriminate trapping. Release of the trapped animals in areas where people are unfamiliar with urban mon- keys increases the antagonism. Furthermore, the receding forest cover, intensive agriculture, modern horticulture, construction of transportation routes and large dams, and the emphasis on mineral extraction in western Himalaya, have now threatened the biological integrity of this young mountain range (Shroder, 1989; Stone, 1992; Denniston, 1993; Valdiya, 1993; Bandyopadhyay & Gyawali, 1994). Thus the problem of management of rhesus monkey and Hanuman langur populations is interlinked with their conservation. In this paper, our objective is to highlight the need for the development of a comprehen- sive conservation and management plan for them. We provide some baseline data on their distribution and numbers in forest and non-forest areas needed for