Throughout the 7 subspecies of gray langurs, all are some shade of gray or brown with black ears and face. Within the subspecies, hand and feet darkness varies as well as tail curvature and overall body size.

Head-to-body size ranges from 20-30 inches with tail length being 27-40 inches. Males are larger weighing on average 40 pounds and females weighing 24 pounds.

Gray langurs are small monkeys that can be found in various places throughout the Indian Subcontinent such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Since they are not fully terrestrial, they can inhabit both forests and lightly wooded habitats.

A gray langur’s diet is primarily herbivorous but can change based on location, season, and food availability. Throughout the subspecies, gray langurs eat fruits, shrubs, leaves, bamboo, human food, and more. Other herbivores in the area benefit by eating the food gray langurs drop while foraging. They are rarely seen drinking as they get most of their hydration from their food.

Mating rituals for gray langurs depends on the group hierarchy. In one-male groups, the alpha is the only one that reproduces. In multiple-male groups, higher ranking males and females will breed. After mating, the females will remain pregnant between 200-365 days depending on the area and their diet. Female gray langurs usually give birth to a single infant that stays latched onto her chest for the first week. The infants become very mobile after a few months and are fully weaned after a year.

Only one species of gray langurs was recognized until 2001, which led to 7 currently recognized subspecies.

Gray langurs spend half their life in the trees and the other half on the ground. They usually walk on all four limbs while on the ground. In the trees, they are seen jumping and climbing around using their tail for balance along with either their front two or back two legs.

These small monkeys can jump up to 15 feet horizontally and 40 feet descending, which makes them difficult targets for predators!

Gray langurs exist in three types of groups: a group with one adult male and numerous females and offspring, a group with males and females of all ages, or all male groups.