Kathmandu, July 31

The numbers of the Assam macaque, a species of the Old World monkeys known to only live in high cliffs and rocky mountain areas, have risen in the Kathmandu Valley of late.

Wildlife expert Dr Mukesh Kumar Chalise confirmed that there were at least 350 Assam macaques in Kathmandu and the surrounding areas.

Dr Chalise said he had first seen only one macaque in Nagarjun, Kathmandu in 2011 but had believed at that time that the macaque must have simply strayed from its group. However, he found in 2014 that a group of macaques had made Nagarjun their home.

Assam macaques are generally found in the northern face of the Churiya range and the rocky cliffs of the mountains at an altitude of 275 metres to 2700 metres.

“There might be around 350 Assam macaques (Macaca assamensis) in the Valley, and the Nagarjun macaques have been acclimatising to the city environment where they have access to easy food from the nearby army barracks,” Chalise told The Himalayan Times, “The macaques have also strangely socialised with rhesus monkeys in Kathmandu. This sudden change in their habitat might be because of the pull of easy food in the Valley.”

There are at least 200 Assam macaques in Nagarjun, 150 in Shivapuri, and eight in Phulchoki, Lalitpur.

Assam macaque is a protected species in Nepal, first found near Jiri of Dolakha in 1941.