_L'entelle_, Audeb., Singes, Fam. V., sect. ii., fig. 2 (1797).
_Simia entellus_, Dufresne, Bull. Soc. Philom., i., p. 49 (1797).
_Cercopithecus entellus_, Latr., Hist. Nat. Buff., xxxvi., p. 283 (1809).
_Semnopithecus entellus_, Desm., Dict. Class. H. Nat., vii., p. 568
(1825); Sykes, P. Z. S., 1831, p. 199; Blyth, J. A. S. Beng., xii.
(1843), p. 169; xiii. (1844), p. 470; Hutton, P. Z. S., 1867, p. 944;
Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 14 (1870); Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas,
vii., p. 60 (1876); Anderson, Rep. Zool. Exped. Yun-nan p. 15 (1878; with
full synonymy); Blanford, Faun. Brit. Ind., Mamm., p. 27 (1891).
_Semnopithecus anchises_, Elliot; Blyth, J. A. S. Beng., xiii. (1844), p.
470; xvi. (1847), p. 733.
{105}_Presbytis entellus_, Gray, Hand-List Brit. Mus., p. 4 (1843; in
part); Blyth., _op. cit._, xvi., pp. 732, 1271, pl. liv., fig. 1 1847;
id., Cat. Mamm. As. Soc. Mus., p. 11 (1863); Jerdon, Mamm. Ind., p. 4
(1867).
_Semnopithecus albogularis_, Müll. u. Schl., Verh. Nat. Gesch., 1839-44,
p. 58 (_fide Anderson_).
CHARACTERS.--Nearly allied to _S. schistaceus_. Crestless; hair on top of
head radiating in all directions; ears large, whiskers short, not
concealing the ears; prominent supra-orbital projecting hairs, black; face,
ears, hands, and feet black. Head, body, limbs, and tail--which is a fourth
longer than the body--pale yellowish-brown, darker on the shoulders and the
outside of the limbs; under surface paler.
FEMALE.--Smaller than the male.
DISTRIBUTION.--According to Dr. Anderson, this species ranges from the
Deccan northwards to the south bank of the Ganges; its distribution to the
north-west, west, and south being uncertain.
HABITS.--"Few, if any, wild animals," observes Dr. Blanford, "afford better
opportunities for observation than the Hanuman Monkey of Northern and
Central India. Generally protected and looked upon as sacred by many of the
Hindu inhabitants, it has no fear of Man, and may be found in groves near
villages, or even on the village trees, as often as in the depths of the
forest. In many parts of India it is a common occurrence to see these
Monkeys on the roofs of houses. They frequently pilfer food from the
grain-dealers' shops, whilst the damage they inflict on gardens and fields,
renders them a great nuisance to the natives. They feed on fruit and grain,
but especially on {106}leaves and young shoots. They live in the high trees
of the forest and near to water, or in rocky hills, in moderately-sized
troops composed of males, females, young, and infants clasping their
mothers. An old male is occasionally found solitary. Two communities often
enter into deadly combat for possession of some fruit grove, an interesting
account of one of which is given by Mr. J. Hughes in the 'Proceedings of
the Asiatic Society of Bengal' for 1884." They are at all times very
active. "Their voice," continues Dr. Blanford, whose account we have
condensed, "is loud and is often heard, especially in the morning and
evening. The two commonest sounds emitted by them are a loud, joyous,
rather musical call, a kind of whoop generally uttered when they are
bounding from tree to tree, and a harsh guttural note, denoting alarm or
danger. The latter is the cry familiar to the tiger hunter, among whose
best friends is the Hanuman. Safely ensconced on a lofty tree, or jumping
from one tree to another as the tiger moves, the Monkey by gesture and cry
points out the position of its deadly enemy in the bushes or grass beneath,
and swears at him heartily."
The Hanuman is of very tender constitution, and cannot bear up against
great changes of climate and temperature and necessarily of elevation; it
is, therefore, entirely restricted to the warm lowland regions. There is,
according to Captain T. Hutton, no true migration of this species from the
upper to the lower districts of Bengal, as has been stated. "I am
inclined," writes this observer, "to restrict its range, somewhat loosely
perhaps, to between 10° and 25° N. lat. and 75° to 88° E. long., forming
with the line drawn across the country from Allahabad to Boondee, a
triangular range entirely south of the rivers Jumna and Ganges."
{107}IV. THE HIMALAYAN LANGUR. SEMNOPITHECUS SCHISTACEUS.
_Semnopithecus entellus_ (nec Dufr.), Hodgs., P. Z. S., 1834, p. 95;
Ogilby, Madr. Journ., xii., p. 144 (1840).
_Semnopithecus schistaceus_, Hodgs., J. A. S. Beng., ix., p. 1212 (1840);
Schl., Mus. Pays-Bas, vii. p. 6 (1876); Anderson, Zool. Exped. Yun-nan,
p. 16 (1878; with full synonymy); Blanford, Faun. Brit. India, Mamm., p.
30 (1891).
_Semnopithecus nepalensis_, Hodg., J. A. S. Beng., ix., 1840, p. 1212.
_Presbytis entellus_ (nec Dufr.), Gray, Cat. Hodgs. Mamm. Nepal, p. 1
(1846); id., Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., pp. 14 and 15 (1870).
_Presbytis schistaceus_, Blyth, Cat. Mamm. As. Soc. Mus., p. 11 (1863);
Jerdon, Mamm. India, p. 6 (1867); Blanford, J. A. S. Beng., xli., 1872,
p. 32.
CHARACTERS.--Fur long; hair radiating on the crown; hair of cheeks long,
hiding the small ears; tail slightly tufted; top and sides of head pale
yellow, or whitish; face and ears, palms and soles black; back, sides,
outside of limbs, tail, hands, and feet, dark slaty, or greyish-brown,
sometimes washed with purple.
Aged specimens are grey or white on the head; young ones often have the
feet darker than the adult.
Facial portion of the skull longer and the superciliary ridges less
projected forward than in _S. entellus_. The nasal bones project beyond a
line from the supra-orbital ridge to the front border of the
pre-maxillaries; in _S. entellus_ they do not project beyond it.
DISTRIBUTION.--The Himalayas, from Kashmir to Bhutan from {108}5,000 to
12,000 feet above the sea, this species taking the place in those high
altitudes of the lowland _S. entellus_.
HABITS.--Similar to those of the Hanuman. According to Dr. Blanford, Capt.
Hutton has observed it near Simla, at 11,000 feet, sporting amongst the
fir-trees that were loaded with snow-wreaths at the time. "But," writes Dr.
Anderson, "there is no evidence that any species of Monkey in the Himalaya
is naturally resident at those heights at which snow annually lies, as was
supposed by Hodgson, and it is the rarity of their occurrence at these high
elevations, and during winter, that has directed so much attention to their
hibernal wanderings. In the summer, they are much more widely distributed
than in the winter, when, as a rule, they are driven to lower heights and
into the warmer valleys."