Langurs - Rulers Of The Blue City (11/268)

Hanuman langurs are different from other monkeys. Often they live right in the teeming cities of India. Since they are held to be sacred, they need not fear humans. But they are also infamous for a behavior that seems anything but holy: Mature males have often been observed killing langur babies of their own group. Biologist Volker Sommer has spent years studying the social relations of langurs by observing them in India. Every third infant is bitten to death by a new group leader. Volker Sommer has an explanation for this unusual form of intra-group aggression: The lead male wants to reduce the time he has to wait until he can procreate himself. For as long as the mother is nursing the infant, she does not ovulate. Volker Sommer illustrates the langurs' various habitats, from the edges of the Great Indian Desert to the booming metropolises, where the extraordinary monkeys have claimed the rooftops, fighting for the right to lead their own harem. His research helps understand why the males behave the way the do.

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