Gray Langurs at Mandore Garden, Jodhpur

I wanted to visit Balsamand Lake in Jodhpur. But the auto driver took me to WelcomeHeritage Bal Samand Lake Palace hotel. Security guard at the entrance refused to let us in, since I wasn't appearing like a customer coming for breakfast or check in. He had no interest in letting visitors in. If I had gone in a nice car and claimed to meet someone or here for breakfast, I would have been granted entry probably. Thus I had to quickly divert to alternate airport- sorry alternate destination and Mandore Garden was nearby. So we went there and I hit a jackpot.

As I entered the Mandore Garden, I was treated by an army of gray langurs who were casually roaming around. The situation was made even more delightful with someone throwing two dozen bananas on the ground for the monkeys to feast on. That made my day and below are the clicks.

Unlike the kachua (Tortoise) shot you saw in earlier post, monkeys are hyper active and won't stay still for long. Trying to compose a shot was difficult as they constantly keep moving around- either the entire body or parts of it. Thankfully bananas gave some respite, as a monkey would sit still in a place while feasting on Bananas, so I had better chances of planning my shot. The background was also not that favorable as it couldn't offer much contrast. The gray langurs have black eye on a black face which again is not so photogenic. Still, below are the photos I could manage. Take a look and let me know your feedbacks.

One person was trying to offer fried food to the langurs (Pakodas, probably stale) which the monkeys didn't touch. Notice the length of their tail

 A bunch of young gray langurs were very playful..

 

And some family photos

You may refer Wikipedia for more details about these Gray Langurs.

Happy to say I didn't miss the lake and the palace hotel.

Similar: Squirrel monkeys at Copenhagen Zoo * Jyoti Raju-Monkey King *