Estimate of Primate Density Using Distance Sampling in the Evergreen forests of the Central Western Ghats, India

Although the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats harbour seven species of primates, estimate of their density is not available for most of the area. The Aghanashini Lion-tailed Macaque Conservation Reserve in central Western Ghats, a newly notified protected area in Karnataka, harbours lion-tailed macaque Macaca silenus, bonnet macaque Macaca radiata and Southern plains gray langur Semnopithecus dussumieri. We estimated their densities using line transect method. The estimate of cluster density for lion-tailed macaque, bonnet macaque and southern plains gray langur was 1.62, 4.28 and 10.67 groups/sq. km respectively, with the individual's density of 14.95, 12.40 and 25.06 individuals/ sq. km respectively. The conservation importance of the present findings is also discussed.