The white-cheeked macaque[1] (Macaca leucogenys) is found only in Medog County in southeastern Tibet and Arunachal Pradesh state of India.
- The white-cheeked macaque lives in forested habitats ranging from rainforests to primary and secondary evergreen forests and mixed deciduous and coniferous forests.
- White whiskers radiating from the cheeks and chin give this new monkey its common name. Their whiskers grow when the monkeys reach adulthood, and their facial skin darkens.
- When barnacle macaques are adults, their faces, and even their ears, are covered in dense, hairy jungle.
- Only the brown muzzle and the pink eyelids escape this hairy encroachment. Then, as a finishing touch, nature painted a thin strip of dark skin that started at the outer corner of the monkey’s eye or upper cheek and extended to each ear.
- As with other macaques, the coloring of their pelage (coat) varies. Shades of light to dark brown and dark chocolate cover their powerful bodies.
- In most individuals, the color of the fur on their beautifully ruffled belly (underside) is lighter than the uniform fur that covers their back (back).
- The short, hairless tail of the white-cheeked macaque demands no attention. Instead, a thick, shaggy ruff is worn around the neck like a scarf and is a distinctive feature of the species.
- The genital distinction between the white-cheeked macaque (white testicles) and its similar cousin (Assam Macaque) helped convince wildlife researchers that they were looking at a new species. Fortunately, caution prevailed in giving these primates their common name, white-cheeked macaques.
