Some 40 black shanked douc langurs (Pygathrix nigripes), divided into three herds, have been found living on Chua Chan Mountain in southern Dong Nai Province’s Xuan Loc District.

A family of black shanked douc langurs lives in Nui Chua National Park.

This is the highest number of black shanked douc langurs found in the area. The black shanked douc langur belongs to group 1B – the group of endangered species that needs priority protection under Vietnamese regulations.

The discovery was made when the local forest management and relevant agencies conducted searches on the mountain after they were informed by locals about the appearance of black shanked douc langurs in the area.

Tôn Ha Quoc Dung, deputy head of the district’s Forest Management Department, said two herds were discovered living at a height of 300m, while the third herd was living at a height of 600m.

Forest rangers found many baby and pregnant black shanked douc langurs in the three herds, he said.

The department has taken measures to protect the black shanked douc langurs, he added.

Locals were told to be friendly if they saw a black shanked douc langur. Hunting of the species was totally banned, he added. 

VNS