Phayre's Leaf Monkey (Trachypithecus phayrei) lives in tropical rainforest across Southeast Asia. It feeds on leaves and fruits. Its conservation status is Endangered.
Fascinating facts about the Phayre's Leaf Monkey
- Phayre's leaf monkey is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, signalling a population decline across its range. The species faces direct pressure from hunting, which removes individuals from already small groups, and loss and fragmentation of its forest habitat reduce the areas needed for feeding and roosting.
- The monkey's face is marked by broad, white, ring-shaped patches that surround each eye, giving the appearance of spectacles. This distinctive facial pattern has led Bengali speakers to call it "Chasma bandor," literally "spectacled monkey." The same white coloration also extends to the ventral area and mouth, making the animal easy to recognise among the green canopy. These markings are a reliable field identifier for researchers.
- Phayre's leaf monkey possesses a tail that exceeds the length of its body, measuring on average 700 mm in males and 750 mm in females. Although the tail is long, it is still shorter than the tails of its close relatives T. melamera and T. popa, providing a useful comparative trait. The relatively shorter tail, combined with its deep bluish-brown body fur, helps distinguish this species from other colobines in overlapping habitats.
- Surveys have recorded about 1 200 individuals in India and 376 in Bangladesh, with 288 of the Bangladeshi monkeys living in the northeast forests. The species inhabits tropical, deciduous and evergreen forests across north-east India, eastern Bangladesh and western Myanmar, and it also uses secondary habitats such as bamboo clusters and rubber plantations.
- Bamboo makes up a large part of its diet in north-east India, a habit linked to the plant's invasive spread in the region. In Dampa Tiger Reserve the monkeys feed on Citrus grandis, Gmelina arborea and Ficus maclellendii, but show a clear preference for bamboos such as Musa ornata, Melocanna baccifera and Dendrocalamus longispathus during the summer months.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeSoutheast Asia
HabitatTropical rainforest
DietLeaves and fruits
About the Phayre's Leaf Monkey
In the lush canopies of Southeast Asia, the Phayre's Leaf Monkey weaves a delicate path, its agile form darting with precision through the dense foliage as it forages for tender shoots and leaves. With eyes that shine like dark, polished stones, this enigmatic creature navigates its arboreal realm with a quiet confidence, its movements a testament to the refined elegance of a life spent suspended among the trees. As one of the most endangered primates in the world, the Phayre's Leaf Monkey embodies a fragile beauty, its very existence a poignant reminder of the preciousness and vulnerability of life in the wild.
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