A species of monkeys sacred in India. Symbols of India - monkeys. Sacred animals take advantage of their position
We continue, friends, acquaintance with the animal world of India. In this article, I want to tell you about another sacred animal of India, revered no less than the Cow - about the MONKEY.
In India, monkeys are considered sacred. According to an old legend, Hanuman (a monkey) stole delicious mangoes from the garden of a mythical giant and gave them to people. The monkey was caught and sentenced to be burned alive, but she managed to put out the fire and stay alive. When extinguishing the fire, she burned her face and hands, which remained black. This legend prompted the Indians to refer the monkey to a number of sacred animals, and even living gods. Entire temples are built for them, where they are revered and cherished. BUT locals and the peasants patiently endure all their pranks that these nimble animals do in gardens and plantations. It is forbidden to hunt monkeys, and the locals 
The inhabitants open their houses wide open before them, and in the gardens they grow their favorite fruits.
According to the ancient Indian epic Ramayana, Hanuman, the son of a monkey and the wind god, helped the god Rama defeat enemies and return his wife Sita, who was kidnapped by the evil king of the island of Lanka, Ravana. Hanuman easily flies across the strait separating India from Ceylon, finds Sita hidden there and returns it to Rama. For his devotional service, Rama showered Hanuman with gifts and rewarded him with eternal youth.
There is another legend that the monkeys helped the god Vishnu. The inhabitants of the country were oppressed by a terrible giant, and Vishnu entered into a fight with him. But, one was unable to cope with the enemy, then he called for help the monkey people, and defeated the Giant. Also, therefore monkeys are sacred animals in India.
They also treat monkeys living in sacred temples with privileges. Many tourists love to feed the monkeys and take pictures with them. Animals are so accustomed to the fact that people feed them that they brazenly beg people for food, and if they don’t get what they want, they become aggressive and may even bite. Monkeys have become so bold that they climb into houses, spoil things and food, and sometimes even steal small animals. In a year they eat so much food that this amount would be enough to feed 10% of the country's population, about 50 million people!!! 
These are heat-loving animals, they live mainly in countries with a hot climate. In India, there are over 40 million individuals. Basically, these are macaques - rhesus.
These are thin-bodied monkeys, small in size, with a tail that is longer than its entire body. There is a brush at the end of the tail. A monkey with yellow-white fur and a black tuft pulled over his face in the form of a hood. Because of this black hood, the Indians consider the monkey sacred. The mass of these animals ranges from 2.5 to 8 kg. The ears and face are hairless. They feed on ripe fruits, leaves, insects, and do not disdain planting on agricultural plantations - cereals, rice, peanuts, coffee beans and coconuts. A family group of macaques can contain from 3 to 80 individuals!!! The hierarchy of relationships is based on maternal kinship. The herd is ruled by females who remain in the herd until old age. And the males, having reached puberty, are forced to leave the herd. Sexual maturity in monkeys occurs at 3-4 years, the pregnancy of females lasts about 180 days. As a rule, one, less often two cubs are born, which remain near the mother until 1.5 - 2 years.
All monkeys are easily tamed. They live not only in zoos, they are even kept at home. Getting used to people, monkeys often adopt the habits of people and simply amaze with their intelligence and ability to imitate. Tamed trained monkeys often appear on television and act in films. Tamed monkeys are able to perform various tasks of people. In Thailand, for example, tame macaques have long helped people in the collection of coconuts, and even surpass people in this skill, because a person sometimes cannot distinguish a ripe nut from an unripe one, and monkeys do it unmistakably.
They can also provide serious services to scientists - botanists in the collection of herbariums in the tropics. Easily climbing the highest and thinnest branches of trees, the monkeys, at the command of a person, break off and bring him the necessary leaves, branches and flowers. The Singapore Botanic Gardens has a monkey nursery where several animals have acquired the profession of plant hunter. They are able to find in the impenetrable jungle rare plants if they are shown a branch or leaf of this plant.
And yet we should not forget that for all their intelligence and ability to imitate people, monkeys do not at all have the same consciousness as a person and are not able to think like a person. The basis of the mental activity of animals, their behavior, are, first of all, instincts, innate and conditioned reflexes.
Primitive thinking of animals with high level intelligence close to human, including monkeys - this is thinking with specific images, called pre-linguistic. For animals, signal stimuli that cause mental processes in the brain can only be direct stimuli - these are olfactory, visual, sound, gustatory and thermal effects.
That's how funny they are, monkeys. But, at the same time, smart, quick-witted and insightful.
It is not for nothing that they are considered SACRED ANIMALS OF INDIA.
I invite you friends to watch a wonderful cartoon in HD quality based on the ancient Indian epic Ramayana.
Indian macaque (lat. Macaca radiata) is a small primate of the Monkey family (Cercopithecidae). His head is decorated with luxurious hair, resembling a dark cap. It is also called the bonnet macaque or zati. The animal is not afraid of man and because of the contraction natural environment habitation willingly settles near villages and temples.
In many regions, it causes serious damage to farmers, destroying crops in fields and plantations. The monkey is easily tamed, has a relatively docile and curious character. It is often used for laboratory research, in captivity is strongly attached to its owner.
Spreading
The species is widely distributed in India. The largest populations live in the coastal regions of the states of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
Monkeys easily adapt to various landscapes, preferring wooded areas. In the north of the country they settle in mountain forests at altitudes of about 2100 m above sea level. The lowlands are inhabited by primary and secondary forests, bush and savannas. In many cities of India they live by begging and stealing provisions.
To date, 2 subspecies are known - M.c. radiata and M.c. diluta. The second subspecies is found on the southeast coast of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It differs from the nominative subspecies in having a lighter belly.
Behavior
Indian macaques lead an active diurnal lifestyle, forming groups of an average number of about 30 individuals. Unlike many other primates, they do not have a clear hierarchical division during fur shedding. Even dominant males look for insects in the fur of their young compatriots with great pleasure.
Monkeys on vacation try to experience close physical contact with members of the same gender. Older animals show obvious concern for the younger ones, trying in every possible way to cheer them up, console and caress them. Young individuals love to scream loudly and imitate attacks on each other in a playful way. In such games Active participation Dominant males accept, even allowing babies and teenagers to bite themselves.
The home lots are very large. The area of holdings of one group can reach 50 hectares. Primates usually stay in their territory for a long time and leave it only after a significant reduction in the food supply. The sites of different groups, as a rule, intersect, but the meeting of two clans does not lead to aggression. Monkeys also coexist peacefully with langurs (Presbytis) and (Macaca Silenus).
Fruits occupy 47-53% of the total diet. In addition to them, the daily menu includes seeds, leaves and flowers of various plants.
Food of animal origin consists of insects, small lizards and frogs. Macaques especially like the fruits of caranga (Pongamia pinnata), fig tree (Ficus carica) and large grasshoppers (Tettigoniodea).
Animals are busy searching for food during daylight hours. AT settlements feed willingly food waste local residents.
reproduction
Sexual maturity in females occurs at the age of 3-4 years, and in males at 4-6 years. AT northern regions range mating season takes place in early spring, and in the rest all year round. The peak birth rate is observed from February to April. The fertility of females depends on the abundance of food and social status.
Pregnancy lasts from 155 to 165 days. The female brings only one baby. Fathers do not directly participate in the upbringing of their offspring and begin to show interest in them only upon reaching adolescence. Cubs feed on mother's milk for 6-7 months.
Females give birth at intervals of 1-2 years and usually bring about 5 babies in total. Menopause occurs at age 27.
For the first six months, the cubs are inseparable from their mother, hanging on her back or paws. After the end of milk feeding, they learn to get their own food on their own, and in the second year they move on to an independent existence. Females stay with their closest relatives, while mature males join foreign clans.
Description
The length of the body and tail of adults is 40-50 cm. Weight 3000-6000 g. Females are smaller and lighter than males.
The color of the fur is brownish, yellowish brownish or olive brownish. The abdomen is lighter. The face is reddish or flesh-colored, devoid of hair. There is also no hair on the ears.
Cheek pouches allow you to store and carry food. Their volume is approximately equal to the volume of the stomach. On the head is a dark “cap” characteristic of this species. It is especially noticeable in mature males.
AT vivo The life expectancy of Indian macaques rarely exceeds 18-19 years. In captivity at good care it increases up to 30 years.
Order - Primates / Suborder - Dry-nosed / Infraorder - Monkey-like / Parvoorder - narrow-nosed monkeys/ Superfamily - Dogheads / Family - Monkeys / Genus - Macaques
History of study
Indian macaque, or bonnet macaque (lat. Macaca radiata) is one of the species of macaques.
The Indian macaque has been identified as separate view individuals of their marmoset family as early as the beginning of the 19th century - in 1812. However, until now, for more than two hundred years, there has been a dispute about their further classification, since many believe that there are two more subspecies of these animals. However, no one can yet accurately determine and confirm the presence of such diversity, since even if there are still species, they live in very close connection with each other.
Spreading
Habitats of the species - mountain rainforests India, sometimes go to the cities.
Appearance
Adult individuals of both male and female have approximately the same height - from 40 to 60 cm. However, their sexual division can be distinguished differently outward sign- proportions of the tail. With the same body length, the length of their tails ranges from 55 cm (in females) to 70 cm (in males). The mass of primates of this species has small values. So in females, the weight is about five kilograms, and in males 7–8 kg.
The structure of the head of bonnet macaques has its own characteristics. They have a completely flat profile, and their skin painted light brown. Also in its structure, cheek pouches can be found, which is explained by their type of nutrition. As a rule, they store small plants and nuts in these compartments.
The color of the coat has a light brown tint and it is almost uniform, as well as its strong density.
Lifestyle
The ideal habitat for these animals is the tropical forests of India, which are located on highlands. The slopes are the most comfortable for these monkeys, which now and then descend to the ground. They are diurnal animals and sleep at night on the branches of trees.
Indian macaques live in large flocks. So, on one branchy tree located on a slope, a friendly family of up to 80 individuals can huddle.
The hierarchical system of relationships is based on maternal kinship. Young females remain in their native herd even after reaching puberty, while males at this age are forced to leave the herd.
Nutrition
Macaque feeds on ripe fruits, leaves, insects, as well as plantings on agricultural plantations - cereals, rice, peanuts, coconuts and coffee beans.
population
Thanks to such large communities, as well as the unpretentious nature of the habitat and animal protection measures in India, the Indian bonnet macaques are out of danger of extinction for the next period of time.
In India, many representatives of the fauna are surrounded by an aura of holiness, for example, cows, snakes, crocodiles living in ponds or reservoirs near temples. The differences in these cases are related to local traditions. special treatment in India to monkeys. In this country, they have long been revered thanks to their ancient mythical leader Hanuman. It was he who at one time tied a torch to his tail to illuminate the battlefield and help King Rama defeat the evil demon Ravana.
AT northern India to the monkeys that fill the groves and capture entire villages, the attitude is twofold. The importunity of these animals, caused by their curiosity and thieving, sometimes reaches extreme, sometimes funny, sometimes dramatic tricks. Therefore, in everyday life, the divine halo of monkeys often goes out. They are often subjected to abuse and even beatings.
There are cases when voracious brown macaques, reaching the age of 18, raid apartments in the heart of New Delhi. It's worth nothing for them to climb upper floors multi-storey buildings and, taking advantage of the absence of the owners, destroy all stocks of food, including those stored in refrigerators. In Delhi, there are several million of these creatures, which are vindictive, capable of turning the life of the inhabitants of entire city blocks into a living hell at any moment. They say that macaques are feared even by officials of the Ministry of Defense, where they once visited and committed a complete pogrom in the meeting room.
In the city of Naggar, in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, a flock of monkeys periodically devastates the famous orchard around the museum-estate of the Roerich family, eating all the fruits, even unripe ones. The frightened inhabitants of this particular region decided that they had had enough and "took up knives", or rather scalpels, to sterilize the annoying male primates, having received the sanction of the Ministry of Health. The example of the Himachals was followed by the Delhi municipality, which ordered to catch these rapidly breeding mammals and take them to suburban reservations. True, this coercive measure has not yet led to the desired results. The monkey colony, accustomed to city comforts, is clearly not satisfied with the prospect of being in the jungle again.
Nothing is known about the exact number of monkeys living in Indian cities, but they can be seen almost everywhere, especially in areas dominated by Vaishnavism. Although macaques and their brethren are more large size denied the right to protection, which they enjoy sacred cows, monkeys in general live quite well, since many temples are dedicated to them. In one of the temple complexes of New Delhi, at least a twenty-meter statue rises in honor of the Hindu hero Hanuman. And this means that this iconic place is visited by numerous pilgrims and monkeys will always find something to eat and entertain themselves, for example, posing for photographers or taking bananas from tourists.
India is an amazing source of forgotten culture and ancient traditions. All more people go to India to plunge into history, to understand how people lived in antiquity, and why so many animals are considered sacred in India.
India is the land of vegetarians, and, probably, the main, but not the only sacred animal of India is the cow (6 letters). However, there is no ban on the consumption of beef in the country and non-Hindus eat beef with pleasure and even serve it in restaurants.
If you are asked name the sacred animal of india, there is something to get confused here, since elephant, monkey and even a snake are considered sacred animals on a par with a cow in India.
The elephant is a sacred animal in India.
The elephant has become sacred for his diligence, he is like a personal crane, truck, tractor and personal vehicle in the family all rolled into one. And the elephant also protected the dwelling and was even used in wars as a ram weapon or a tank, if you like, it is well written about the role of elephants in wars in this article.
Why did the monkey become a sacred animal, it would seem difficult to understand, a wimp, which does not bring any benefit in the house, and meanwhile - the monkey is also a sacred animal for the Indians. To understand why the monkey is considered a sacred animal, you can plunge into the Indian epic and remember the wars of people and monkeys.
By historical information on the territory of India in ancient times lived a people of intelligent monkeys, who were not inferior to people in knowledge and culture and even surpassed them in strength and intelligence. Search the Internet about wars between humans and monkeys, these are not fiction, but historical facts about more ancient civilizations that inhabited the territory of India in ancient times.
The sacred animal of India is the snake.
This representative of the animal world does not cause sympathy in any person, only fear. And meanwhile the snake is also a sacred animal. In India, there is a holiday of snakes, it is called, in my opinion, Nagapanchami - if I did not distort its sound, on this day it is customary to treat snakes with milk and rice, and bring flowers to snake holes.
Why is the snake considered a sacred animal in India? Apparently, this is also the history of the development of man in parallel with the intelligent branch of reptiles.
It is generally accepted that Hindi is spoken in India, encyclopedias write that Hindi is the most widely spoken language in the world. But, unfortunately, if you learn Hindi and travel to India, you will be very disappointed there - you will not be able to communicate in it, since Hindi is a generalized name for several thousand local dialects, and it is spoken only in the north of the country. You better teach English language, India has long been an English colony, and many residents still communicate in it.
India is not an easy country - bright in its decorations, wise, like its history with sacred animals, with traditions and knowledge that came from the depths of millennia.