Photostory: Monkey Business

First published in Sanctuary Cub, Vol. 42 No. 3, March 2022

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Photo Feature

Nilgiri tahr
<p>The mountain monarch, the Nilgiri tahr <em>Nilgiritragus hylocrius</em>, stands on the rugged slopes of the Nilgiris. Endemic to the Western Ghats, they now survive in fragmented populations, with the Nilgiris serving as one of their last strongholds. Living in small herds, these sure-footed ungulates thrive in their high elevation grasslands and steep rocky cliffs that are largely inaccessible to predators. Mature males, called saddlebacks on account of the lighter grizzled patch on their backs, roam their grassland kingdom browsing on a variety of grasses and other plants.</p>