India, Jan. 9 -- The Nilgiri langur is an arboreal primate native to the Western Ghats, known for its distinctive call, golden mane and high-canopy life

Found across hill ranges of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, it prefers remote evergreen forests and shola-grassland mosaics at higher elevations

Living in small troops, the leaf-eating primate plays a key role in seed dispersal and forest regeneration

Tribal communities regard the langur as a forest spirit and guardian, reading its calls as warnings or omens

Hunting for fat and continued poaching, alongside habitat pressures, have shaped long-term population declines

As dawn arrives in the Western Ghats, the hushed night is broken with a piercing hoot: high-pitched yet fitting with the natura...