A Primate That Eats What Would Kill You
The Nilgiri Langur, Semnopithecus johnii, lives in the shola forests and mist-covered slopes of the Western Ghats, and it eats almost nothing but leaves. Not fruit. Not insects. Leaves, many of them loaded with tannins, alkaloids, and secondary plant compounds that exist precisely to stop animals from eating them. A human who tried the same diet would face vomiting, liver stress, and progressive malnutrition within days. The langur thrives.
