Population Status and Distribution Assessment of Nicobar Long-Tailed Macaque Macaca fascicularis umbrosus (Miller, 1902) in Nicobar Group of Islands

Macaca fascicularis umbrosus also known as Nicobar long tailed macaque is a subspecies of long-tailed macaque. It has a restricted distribution in the three islands namely Great Nicobar, Little Nicobar and Katchal of Nicobar Island groups. This species is the only non-human primates found in Nicobar group of islands. The species has been classified as Vulnerable' in IUCN Red list due to its restricted distribution, and susceptibility of its habitat to natural calamities. The study has been carried out during December 2015 and April 2016 in two islands viz., Katchal and Great Nicobar out of the three islands where the species is distributed to estimate the present status of Macaca fascicularis umbrosus. Based on the two systematic surveys conducted in the known habitats of the species, a total of n = 28 groups comprises of n = 958 individuals were observed and out of which n = 193 individuals were observed in Katchal island and n = 765 individuals were observed in Great Nicobar Island. The group encounter rate was higher in Great Nicobar i.e. 0.59 ± 0.1 groups/km (ER ± SE) where the group encounter rate in Katchal island was 0.36 ± 0.2 (ER ± SE).