In the past, Bonnet Monkeys or Bonnet Macaques were easy to spot in peninsular India. Their population used to stretch from the southernmost point of India to the southern banks of the rivers Tapti and Krishna. They were typically found at temples, tourist areas, or on the roads. People used to spot them hopping from one tree to another.
Until a few years ago, the Bonnet Macaque once used to be a species of least concern. But now, their numbers have drastically decreased. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List marks them as ‘vulnerable’ due to the dramatic decline in their numbers in the past and the predicted loss in the future.
In 2017, a study conducted under the leadership of Mewa Singh from the University of Mysore and Honnavalli N Kumara from Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History in Coimbatore, published in the Journal PlosOne, showed that the distributional range of the Bonnet Monkeys is drastically declining. As per data published in the article, the population of Bonnet Monkeys declined by more than 65 per cent in 25 years. Between 2003 and 2015, the Bonnet monkey population decreased by more than 50 per cent.
But what are the reasons for such a drastic reduction in their numbers?
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