Rhesus monkey

Scientific description

An old-world monkey living in almost all the habitat of Northeast India. The monkey is greyish brown in colour. They live in feral colonies and can be spotted along the national highways passing through forests, human settlements or tea gardens, religious places etc. of the region. 

Systematic position

Kingdom        Animalia

   Phylum            Chordata

      Class                  Mammalia

         Order                  Primates

             Suborder             Haplorhini

                 Infraorder          Simiiformes

                     Family                Cercopithecidae

                         Genus                  Macaca

                             Species:               M. mulatta

Cultural significance

Local people believe that the monkeys are relatives of Hindu god ‘Hanuman’ and they do not cause any harm to the monkeys.