Abstract

In the past, the objectives of forest management were significantly different from what we hold today. With the onset of conservation movement, in addition to the economic perspective, biodiversity conservation has also become implanted into forestry. We present a case study from Kerala showing how knowledge of population ecology of an endangered primate, the lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus), can be used to manage the rainforest to facilitate conservation of this speciesin other words, how ecological knowledge can be used to manage the forest for conserving biodiversity. The study was made in the Silent Valley National Park, one of the unique protected areas in Kerala encompassing a large continuous stretch of less disturbed rainforest. The study revealed the existence of a fairly good populations of the lion-tailed macaque and Nilgiri langur (Trachypithecus johnii), another endemic and endangered primate within the park. The Attappady Reserved Forest an area adjacent