Tufted Langur

Tufted Langur

Semnopithecus priam

Silhouette: Kai R. Caspar · PhyloPic

LCNTNear ThreatenedVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~70% · Very likely
at Wilpattu National Park

In 3 days >90%

124 Verified sightings at Wilpattu National Park From 2019 to 2026
882 In all 6 parks
March Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Tufted Langur

The tufted gray langur (Semnopithecus priam), also known as Madras gray langur, and Coromandel sacred langur, is an Old World monkey, one of the species of langurs. This, like other gray langurs, is mainly a leaf-eating monkey. It is found in southeast India and Sri Lanka. It is one of three Semnopithecus species named after characters from The Iliad, S. hector and S. ajax being the others. In Sinhala it is known as හැලි වඳුරා (Heli wandura).

There are two subspecies, Semnopithecus priam priam in India, and Semnopithecus priam thersites from Sri Lanka. There are two theories about the evolution of these two subspecies. According to one theory, Semnopithecus priam arose from subspecies Semnopithecus vetulus philbricki. With the glacial fluctuations, and far apart from the Indian subcontinent, pushed two taxa apart, but both retained key adaptation to folivory, and a ruminant-like stomach. Thereafter, S. priam invaded India, when there was a land bridge and there split off into two subspecies of S. priam. In the other theory, Sri Lankan subspecies S. priam thersites evolved from the endemic S. vetulus, whereas, Indian subspecies S. priam priam evolved from... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~80%
2 Wilpattu National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~70%
3 Udawalawe National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~60%
4 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
~40%
5 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~40%
6 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 ZooParc de Beauval 🇫🇷 France In captivity
2 Arignar Anna Zoological Park 🇮🇳 India In captivity
3 Bannerghatta Zoo 🇮🇳 India In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Tufted Langur in Wilpattu National Park?

Very likely

About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Tufted Langur sighting in Wilpattu National Park on a given day, based on 124 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 7th most-seen of the 19 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Tufted Langur in Wilpattu National Park?

February–March and November

In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Tufted Langur in Wilpattu National Park on a given day, against about 40% in January, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Tufted Langur?

Between noon and 3 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tufted Langur sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Wilpattu National Park the best place to see a Tufted Langur?

2nd of 6

Of the 6 parks where we can rate Tufted Langur sightings, Wilpattu National Park ranks 2nd at about 70%. The best odds are in Yala National Park (Sri Lanka, about 80%). All parks ranked.

Where does the Tufted Langur sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Tufted Langur is recorded against all the mammals logged in Wilpattu National Park (124 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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