Douc Langur: colourful primate of Indochina

Red-shanked Douc Langur Pygathrix nemaeus

Red list status: Critically Endangered

Appearance and behaviour

Red-Shanked Douc Langurs are vividly colourful. Their emotional golden faces, surrounded by delicate white whiskers, radiate intelligence and calmness. Their crimson-red lower legs and silvery thighs create a striking contrast against their sleek black torsos and long, white-tipped tails.

These diurnal primates live in the trees, leaping gracefully from branch to branch with their powerful limbs and prehensile tails. They are highly social, often living in groups of up to 50 individuals, led by a dominant male. Communication is subtle and involves gentle vocalisations, body language, and eye contact.

Geographic range

The langurs are native to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, inhabiting dense tropical forests. They prefer the canopy of subtropical and tropical evergreen forests, where they remain hidden from predators. However, deforestation and habitat fragmentation have significantly reduced their range, confining them to isolated patches of forest.

Diet

Primarily folivorous, Red-Shanked Douc Langurs consume a wide variety of young leaves, which make up the bulk of their diet. They also feed on fruits, flowers, seeds, and buds, depending on seasonal availability. Their multi-chambered stomachs are specially adapted to ferment fibrous plant material, allowing them to extract essential nutrients from their diet.

Reproduction and mating

Red-Shanked Douc Langurs have a gestation period of approximately 165–190 days, typically resulting in a single infant. Newborns are born with pale fur, which darkens as they grow. There is no fixed breeding season, and births occur year-round. Both parents are actively involved in raising their offspring, strengthening the social bonds within their group.

Threats

The Red-Shanked Douc Langur is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Conservation efforts include habitat protection, anti-poaching patrols, and the rescue and rehabilitation of individuals caught in the wildlife trade. Organisations such as the Endangered Primate Rescue Center in Vietnam are at the forefront of these efforts, working tirelessly to protect these magnificent animals and their habitats.

Habitat loss has also been a major threat in Vietnam with extensive logging for coffee, rubber, and cashew plantations (Nadler et al. 2004), and in Lao PDR where logging is underway at an increasing rate.

IUCN Red List

Deforestation for palm oil, timber and other agriculture: Deforestation for agriculture, logging, and infrastructure development has destroyed vast areas of Douc Langur habitat. Habitat loss has also been a major threat in Vietnam with extensive logging for coffee, rubber, and cashew agriculture (Nadler et al. 2004), and in Lao PDR where logging is happening at an increasing rate for mining, timber and hydropower projects, mostly by large Chinese and Vietnamese companies (Smirnov 2015). Deforestation has led to an increase in access to remote forests for illegal hunting of the red-shanked douc, contributing to a big decline in the global population.

Illegal wildlife Trade: The Red Shanked Douc is heavily targeted for traditional medicine, as trophies, and for the pet trade.

Climate change: Changes to climate in particular rain patterns and temperature impact their food sources and habitats, further threatening their survival.

Take action to protect the Douc Langur!

Protect the Red-Shanked Douc by boycotting products linked to deforestation, such as palm oil. Support conservation organisations working to preserve their habitats and enforce anti-poaching laws. Share their story and advocate for their survival with #BoycottPalmOil and #Boycott4Wildlife.

Conservation efforts for this species of langur are underway

Further Information

Coudrat, C.N.Z., Quyet, L.K., Duc, H., Phiaphalath, P., Rawson, B.M., Nadler, T., Ulibarri, L. & Duckworth, J.W. 2020. Pygathrix nemaeus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T39826A17941247. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T39826A17941247.en. Downloaded on 25 January 2021.

Endangered Primate Rescue Center. (n.d.). Red-Shanked Douc Langur. Retrieved from EPRC

Education for Nature Vietnam. (2021). The Illegal Trade of Endangered Douc Langurs. Retrieved from ENV

New England Primate Conservancy. (n.d.). Red-Shanked Douc Langur. Retrieved from New England Primate Conservancy

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