!ndia
 |
| photo © peter stoeckl |
Semnopithecus entellus (Dufresne, 1797)
Hanuman Langur.
For Europeans, it is rather unusual and emotionally appealing to meet wild monkeys in their genuine habitat - and to meet them there in a totally relaxed state of mind, obviously trusting and accepting you as somebody they definitely do not have to be afraid of. The kind of benevolent and respectful treatment religious Hindus show to animals and the Hanuman Langur in particular since many generations seems to be reason.
Hunaman Langurs are vegetarians, and usually they are less aggressive than other Old World monkeys. But there are moments in the life of such a troup that may be violent, that is when dominant males are in danger to be replaced by juvenile males. And if juvenile males are successful in taking over the power from an old male, these young males will expell infants sucking at their mothers' breasts in order to make the females sexually conceptive again before time.
The picture was taken while walking slowly through a troup of langurs gathered around their sleeping trees on top of Savitri Temple Hill.
Pushkar, Rajasthan, 30 October, 2006.