A family of Northern Plains Grey Langur monkeys, Semnopithecus entellus, in Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh, central India.
I always enjoy watching monkeys in the wild, even though I have to admit I probably anthromologise too much into their behaviour.
Until 2001, only one species of Grey Langur was recognised, but now eight full species are recognised, though there is still some debate about this. This diurnal species, which is as happy on the ground as it is in the trees, covers most of India, south of the Himalayas and north of the Tapti and Krishna rivers.
This species is also known as the Hanuman Langur, or Sacred Langur because in the Hindu epic the Ramayana, the god Hanuman takes the form of a monkey and leads an army of monkeys to rescue Rama’s wife, Sita, who has been captured and is being held hostage on the island of Lanka. The langur’s face, hands and feet are held to represent the burns Hanuman suffered in his quest.
This image is copyright © Liz Leyden, all rights strictly as agreed in writing with the author or her agent.
It is available for sale as various types of wall art, and as home and personal accessories, from my gallery at Pixels.com.
