Observations by meenakshimallik

This photograph was taken at Vaishno Devi, Katra, Jammu and Kashmir.

The Kashmir gray langur (Semnopithecus ajax) is an Old World monkey, one of the species of langurs. This, like other gray langurs, is a leaf-eating monkey. It is found in India, Pakistan and Nepal. It was formerly considered a subspecies of Semnopithecus entellus and is one of several Semnopithecus species named after characters from The Iliad, along with Semnopithecus hector and Semnopithecus priam.

The Kashmir gray langur is considered to be endangered. This is due to its restricted range, fragmented population, and threats from human agriculture and development activities. It is arboreal and diurnal, and lives in several types of forests at altitudes between 2200 and 4000 meters.

The birthing season for the Kashmir gray langur runs from January through June, although almost half of all infants are born in March. The infants are weaned at a higher age than most Asian colobines. While most Asian colobines wean their young within the first year, Kashmir gray langurs wean their young on average at 25 months. This is apparently due to nutritional constraints, since monkeys in poorer sites wean their young at an older age. The interbirth interval for females is about 2.4 years.