COIMBATORE: In the mist-covered hills of Valparai, where winding ghat roads slice through dense forests, the endangered lion-tailed macaque is facing an escalating threat from speeding vehicles.
Therefore, the forest department has now intensified conservation measures to tackle road kills, one of the leading causes of unnatural deaths among the arboreal primates endemic to the Western Ghats.
As part of a major mitigation initiative, the department has installed 10 artificial canopy bridges — five each in the Valparai and Manombolly forest ranges — at critical crossing points where lion-tailed macaques frequently descend to the ground to navigate broken forest canopies. The intervention has already shown encouraging results, with macaques beginning to use the rope bridges.
Forest officials say the initiative is aimed at restoring canopy connectivity for the species, which spends most of its life in the upper branches of trees. In areas where roads have fragmented tree cover, the animals are forced to climb down onto roads to reach adjoining forest patches, leaving them vulnerable to vehicle collisions.
“Over the last few months, we have installed 10 artificial canopy bridges in critical points. There seems to be a visible difference as road kills reduced drastically thereafter. Only once, a lion-tailed macaque was injured, but that too recovered after treatment,” said M. Suresh Krishnan, Forest Range Officer, Valparai Range.
The State government had sanctioned Rs 48.50 lakh in October last year under the Lion-Tailed Macaque Conservation Project to improve forest connectivity and create awareness among tourists and local communities.
To further reduce accidents, awareness boards urging motorists to slow down have been erected at vulnerable stretches. Two dedicated macaque watchers have also been deployed in the Puthuthottam area, which supports one of the largest concentrations of the species in the region. Around 130 macaques, divided into nearly five troops, inhabit the locality.
“A few kilometres of road in the Puthuthottam area have been identified as highly vulnerable. The watchers monitor macaque movement and temporarily halt traffic when troops attempt to cross the road. Since the area is close to human settlements, the animals also move into residential neighbourhoods,” Suresh Krishnan added.
The Forest Department is now preparing to undertake the first synchronised census of lion-tailed macaques across the Valparai plateau. Officials are in the process of dividing the landscape into grids based on macaque movement patterns and also document the distribution of preferred tree species.
Authorities have also urged the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) to insulate overhead power lines to prevent electrocution deaths, another significant threat faced by the species.
Wildlife conservationists, however, warn that the mortality figures could be far higher than officially documented. According to estimates by researchers and field observers, at least 40 lion-tailed macaques may have died over the past two years in Valparai, with road accidents accounting for the majority of deaths.
“Road kills of lion-tailed macaques have always occurred, but the numbers seem to have increased significantly in recent years due to rising vehicle movement.Electrocution is the second major cause of death, and we have long demanded insulated aerial bunched cables to prevent such incidents. Similar systems have already been implemented in Mudumalai and should be extended to the Anamalai landscape as well,” said Ganesh Raghunathan, Senior Programme Manager at Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF).
Lion-tailed macaques are commonly found in Puthuthottam, Kurangumudi and Oomayandi Thottam areas in the Valparai and Manombolly ranges. Conservationists say increasing tourism and heavy vehicular movement over the last two years have intensified the threat to the species.
“Many instances of road kills never come to our notice because injured animals move into forest areas and die later. In some cases, carcasses are consumed by scavengers, making documentation difficult. Tourists should avoid feeding macaques or throwing food along roadsides, as that attracts the animals onto roads.,” said P. Jeganathan, scientist at the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF).
Conservationists also point to improper garbage disposal and discarded medical waste as emerging dangers to the species.
NCF researchers say mitigation measures have been ongoing since 2008, when road expansion projects and large-scale tree felling disrupted traditional canopy pathways used by the macaques. They note that hundreds of fig trees — a crucial food source for the species — were cut down in the 1990s, gradually forcing the animals closer to roads and human habitations.
“With the rapid growth of tourism, macaques increasingly began approaching roadsides for food discarded by tourists. That is when road kills started becoming more frequent.Nearly 90 per cent of road kill deaths can be prevented if tourists stop feeding the animals,” Ganesh said.
File PHOTOS: A lion-tailed macaque feeds on parotta while another clutches a soft drink bottle discarded by tourists in Valparai.
A lion-tailed macaque grieves beside the carcass of another killed in a road accident.
A lion-tailed macaque crosses the road using an artificial canopy bridge.