COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HOME RANGE IN HIGHLY AND LOW PROVISIONED BISEXUAL TROOPS OF HANUMAN LANGURS, (SEMNOPITHECUS ENTELLUS) AROUND JODHPUR

摘要

A comparative study on the home range and the ranging pattern in Hanuman langurs (Semnopithecus entellus) were conducted during December, 2005 to December, 2006 around Jodhpur (India). Data on group size, group composition, male- female sex-ratios andhome ranges were obtained in two focal bisexual troops. An average home range size in two different habitats (of open scrub and garden areas) found to be 0.95 km~2 and 0.50 km~2 respectively. The troops living in garden having more then 100 members arehighly fed and they depend only 30% on natural feeding. A positive correlation found between the dependability on natural food and the home range size. The variability in the frequency of provisioning directly affects the ranging pattern of a particulartroop. The troop members traveled less when they are provisioned. However the all-male bands had larger home ranges than bisexual troops. Thus lending support to the hypothesis that males have adapted to the dispersion and occupying a large home range (varies from 4-15 km~2 that covers the ranges of several bisexual troops (i.e. female groups). And the bisexual troop have limited home range specially when they are highly fed by local people.