CPREEC - EIACP Programme Centre, Resource Partner on Ecological Heritage and Sacred Sites of India

Environmentalists in Arunachal Pradesh have made a gem of a discovery by spotting the ‘white-cheek Macaque’ in the forests of Anjaw district. The primate monkey species biologically known as ‘Macaca-Leucogenys’, was seen for the first time by nature conservationists in India. This rare-discovery highlights the richness of North-East’s biodiversity, and is likely to invite global biologists to this remote part of the world.

The discovery was made by a team of environmentalists – Dr Ranjan Kumar Das, Udayan Borthakur and Dr Dilip Chetry. The trio are professional bird guides and photographers. During their routine trip to the Anjaw forests, they were surprised to spot the white-cheeked Macaque on a branch of tree. The photos were taken by them in March 2015. However, Dr Ranjan was not sure whether the monkey is new-found specie, and took an extensive research to confirm the same. Almost, after a year, it is confirmed that the monkey spotted belongs to Macaca-Leucogenys specie, rather than Rhesus macaque, Arunachal macaque, Tibetan macaque or the Assamese macaque, which are found in abundance in the region.

“We are really excited to have spotted this rare species. I would like to further contribute to the understanding of this specie through my photography work,” Dr Ranjan was quoted as saying by tecake.in. Known for his photography, Dr Ranjan is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, Tinsukia College.

Nature-conservationists in Arunachal have opined that white-cheek Macaque once existed in the region of Tibet, However, it was almost considered extinct due to mass consumption by humans in the region.

Source: http://www.india.com/news/india/primate-monkey-specie-white-cheek-macaque-discovered-in-arunachal-pradesh-1132873/