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Arunachal Macaque Macaca munzala BEST SEEN AT: Tawang and West Kameng districts, Arunachal Pradesh THE ARUNACHAL Macaque was discovered in 2003 100 years after the last monkey, a Pagai macaque, was last described from Indonesia in 1903 in Arunachal Pradesh by a team of scientists from the Nature Conservation Foundation. It is one of the highest-dwelling primates in the world, occurring between 1,600 and 3,500 metres above sea level. Though new to science, the local Monpa people have always known this monkey. They call it the munzala, or the monkey of the deep forest. The Monpas do not hunt the macaque but conflict can be fatal. The monkeys sometimes raid the barley, millet or potatoes grown in the region, and may occasionally be killed in retaliation. The other threats that the munzala faces include a loss of its subtropical forest habitat to agriculture, and hunting in areas inhabited by other tribal populations. That a new macaque species was discovered in our Land of a Billion People is nothing short of a miracle. And it is hoped that the recently declared Sangyang Gyatso Biosphere Reserve in Arunachal Pradeshs northern Tawang and West Kameng districts will hopefully be able to conserve this unusual primate as it steps into a precarious future. PRERNA SINGH BINDRA
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From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 6, Issue 27, Dated July 11, 2009
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