We currently follow two free-living habituated groups of bonnet macaques – Arrow’s group and Eco group.
Arrow’s group has close to 60 individuals while Eco has about 30 individuals.
The two groups have contrasting range preferences. Arrow’s group is frequently seen moving through the villages at the field site and they are quite accustomed to human presence. However, they also love being in forested areas especially during the fruiting season.
Eco group on the other hand prefer to stay in forested areas, usually on the riverside, away from human disturbance. Though they move through villages occasionally, they still stay on the riverside or in areas with lots of trees.
We would like you to meet some of the individuals from these two groups.
Arrows group
Black Panther
Yes, we named him after a Marvel superhero! No, he does not like to fight!
Meet Black panther (BP). This distinguished gentleman is a high ranking middle aged male from Arrow’s group. He doesn’t involve himself in fights unless necessary but you’ll surely find him fighting for food, especially sweets.
You’ll often find him sitting in comfortable positions quite similar to us humans lounging on a Sunday afternoon.
Lisa
Meet Lisa (LS), she’s a ball of happy energy, quite mischievous and curious.
Lisa lost her tail as an infant due to an electrocution incident. The prehensile tail is an important body part for bonnets, but the lack of it doesn’t deter this young lady. One moment you’ll find her peacefully grooming another group member and the next you’ll see her jumping into the river along with the juvenile and sub-adult males. There is never a dull moment for us when she is around.
Dam group
Mean Eye
The oldest adult female, Mean Eye was a very stately macaque. Old enough to no longer have infants of her own, she was viewed as sort of the grandmother of the troop. Although she was groomed by most of the other adult females and juveniles, she was often seen sitting by herself on the side of the troop. Mean Eye had very little tolerance for infants and juveniles approaching her, often sending them screaming with a slap. However, with the untimely disappearance of Bella, she became the primary caregiver for Bubby, Bella’s orphan.
Unfortunately, a few short months later, Bubby was killed in a road accident, and after that happened Mean Eye stopped eating and socializing. Two weeks later, she was no longer seen in the troop and is presumed to have passed away.
Blondie
Until her untimely disappearance from the troop in October 2021, Blondie was the alpha female of Dam. She was regal and usually calm. She rarely partook in aggressive encounters and spent a lot of her time staying vigilant for conflict with humans and other troops. She was most often seen in the company of Bella, another high-ranking female (presumably her sister), and Mean-Eye. She was an attentive mother and we observed her behavior to change with the loss of her infants – she became more aggressive towards lower ranking females and stayed on the periphery of the troop after losing her son, Bono. In 2021, she gave birth to a still birth infant whose corpse she carried and groomed for several days. Afterwards, she stayed on the periphery of the group and avoided other group members for a few weeks.
Bella
Bella was a “mean girl” – pretty and aggressive. She was a high-ranking female who also disappeared from the troop at the same time as Blondie. Irrespective of age and gender, Bella has been seen to threaten and push or slap all individuals in the troop except Blondie. She was definitely a force not to be reckoned with! Bella was the only adult female in the troop who has been observed to threaten passing tourists if they were too close to other individuals.
Despite all of her aggressive behavior, she was one of the best mothers in the troop. Her infants were always well cared for, and never allowed to venture very far with Bella’s grip on their tails. Before her death, she was often seen in the company of Marley, a young juvenile female who would provide care for Bubby, Bella’s infant in 2021.
Yoda
Named for her characteristic Yoda-like ears, Yoda is a high-ranking female in the Dam troop. Infamous for her carelessness with her own infants, Yoda is well known to bully other adult females as well as younger juveniles. She is part of the younger group of adult females in the troop and is perhaps the only one to have not had an infant survive past three months. She is one of the more active females in the troop and is often in the company of one or more of the adult males.
Kala
Kala was one of the more central females in the troop and was almost always found grooming someone. She was easily identified by her distinct hairstyle and snout. Unfortunately, Kala disappeared from the troop in November 2022, leaving behind her daugther, Katara. Kala was a very patient and careful mother with all her infants. Kola, a sub-adult female and Katara are Kala’s two surviving children.
Jane
Jane is slenderly built and has sharp, angular features and is identified by her distinctive elf-like ears. This characteristic feature has been passed on to her sons, Jaguar and Jude, who both died likely due to anthropogenic causes. Usually calm and unperturbed, Jane became more aggressive after the birth of her son Jude in the 2021 birth season. After Jude’s death in 2022, she was seen on the group periphery, isolating herself from the rest. Now a high-ranking female, she often forages alone but prefers to sleep in the company of a few favorite females.
