An endangered species in captivity: husbandry and management of the lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus)

Abstract

The species that are endangered in their wild habitats also need to be maintained as sustainable populations in captivity. The liontailed macaque (Macaca silenus) endemic to the Western ghats of India, is an endangered species. The captive breeding programmes for this species have been taken up in North America, Europe and India. However, the management practices for the captive population need to be standardized. We propose that an assessment of the biological potential of a captive population at any given time can help predict future population dynamics. Since systematic data on the captive populations of the lion-tailed macaque in European institutions are available for the past several decades, we use those data to trace the development of the population in a historical perspective, and then use this perspective to develop a husbandry and population management manual for the liontailed macaque in captivity. We propose husbandry guidelines for individual groups, and also propose that each group should be considered a part of a metapopulation.