Red-shanked Douc Langur
Red-Shanked Douc Langur
In the lowlands, mountains, and rainforests of Indochina is where the “queen of the primates” rule. But you won’t see them by just walking through. No, you’ll need to look up—into the mid and upper canopy. If you’re lucky, you just might see a blur of brilliant colors as they make grand twenty-foot leaps through the air to their next spot for a fresh meal of leaves. These are the Red-Shanked Douc Langur. And you best make every moment watching them count. For these critically endangered queens may not last much longer.
These marvels of the primate world have a lengthy and difficult name to remember. But if we break it down, hopefully it won’t be any harder to recall than “Indian Elephant”. The last thing we want is for these incredible creatures to be lost in both memory and nature.
The name “douc”, which is pronounced “dook”, comes from an old Vietnamese word that is assumed to mean “monkey”. “Langur” is a name given to many species of Asian monkeys that belong to the colobinae sub-family.
All Langur monkeys share certain characteristics. They are primarily leaf-eaters, are social, diurnal, and arboreal. Though their colorations and patterns vary, they all share characteristically long and slender tails, bodies, hands, feet, and limbs. They also have very complicated stomach systems, which contain sacs filled with bacteria that break down the leaves they use through the means of fermentation. This will typically cause a bloated belly appearance and tends to give these poor monkeys some rather gassy side effects.
The red-shanked douc langur has three other close relative species that share the “douc langur” name. The other two are the “gray-shanked” and “black-shanked”. As you can tell by the names, leg color is the major distinction for these species, who are otherwise very similar to each other. However, the “blank-shanked” langur is perhaps the most unusual among it’s relatives in the fact that it has, at times, been observed to leave the treetops on occasion.
This species is best known for its unique colors. They have long speckled grey fur with white arms, black hands and feet, and their distinctive red legs. They have yellow and orange faces that are bearded with long white whiskers, under which is a collar of red fur wrapping around the collar bone. If you’re lucky enough to have one of these queens bat their eyes at you, you’ll see that their eye lids are naturally blushed in a brilliant blue. They also have very long, non-prehensile tails which are used for balance when traveling in trees and leaping through the air.
These monkeys typically grow to be about two feet long and weigh a quarter of a pound, with the males being slightly bigger than the females. An alternate distinction in sex between these monkeys can be indicated by two white patches on the rump. If you see them, you’re looking at a male, and if they don’t have these patches, it’s a female. However, monkeys aren’t very modest, so odds are good you’ll know what sex it is whether you see those patches or not.
Red-shanked Douc Langurs are very social. They live and travel together in groups and get along with each other very well. However, they do have a social hierarchy, with the males being the more dominant party. When the group travels or forages together, the adult males will lead with the young males taking the rear, and the females and their young in the center. They spend most of their time eating, napping and grooming each other. They never leave their tree-top home, not even for water. All the water they need they get from eating leaves and various fruits and flowers. They are generally quiet creatures but will growl or squeal when frightened and thrash about in the branches. They reach maturity at 4-5 years, females before males, and can live up to twenty-five years of age.
Twenty-five years is a long life for these monkeys, but not long enough. For the females breed about every two years, bearing a single offspring. This has proven not to be a match against their major threat of survival—people. Natives of the area kill these monkeys for food and medicine, while poachers catch and sell them as pets or for their body parts. As if this weren’t enough, their homeland has been fiercely destroyed during the Vietnam war. In 2000, these monkeys were endangered. As of 2020, they have reached critical status! In the timespan of three generations of these monkeys, nearly 80 percent of their population has vanished and it continues to decline.
Thankfully, there are organizations like the “Douc Langur Foundation", "WWF", and the Son Tra Nature Reserve. All of which are doing their best to rescue and protect these treetop monarchs from extinction. Unfortunately, not many people know about these incredible douc langurs—but now you do. Be a part of their revival and spread the word!
Refrences:
https://critterfacts.com/redshankeddouc/?doing_wp_cron=1651190127.8679990768432617187500
https://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/redshanked_douc_langur.php
https://vcbt-n.com/products/exploring-wildlife-in-son-tra-nature-reserve/
https://neprimateconservancy.org/red-shanked-douc-langur/
https://traveldanang.org/place/son-tra-peninsula/
https://neprimateconservancy.org/red-shanked-douc-langur/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-shanked_douc
Red-Shanked Douc Langur
In the lowlands, mountains, and rainforests of Indochina is where the “queen of the primates” rule. But you won’t see them by just walking through. No, you’ll need to look up—into the mid and upper canopy. If you’re lucky, you just might see a blur of brilliant colors as they make grand twenty-foot leaps through the air to their next spot for a fresh meal of leaves. These are the Red-Shanked Douc Langur. And you best make every moment watching them count. For these critically endangered queens may not last much longer.
These marvels of the primate world have a lengthy and difficult name to remember. But if we break it down, hopefully it won’t be any harder to recall than “Indian Elephant”. The last thing we want is for these incredible creatures to be lost in both memory and nature.
The name “douc”, which is pronounced “dook”, comes from an old Vietnamese word that is assumed to mean “monkey”. “Langur” is a name given to many species of Asian monkeys that belong to the colobinae sub-family.
All Langur monkeys share certain characteristics. They are primarily leaf-eaters, are social, diurnal, and arboreal. Though their colorations and patterns vary, they all share characteristically long and slender tails, bodies, hands, feet, and limbs. They also have very complicated stomach systems, which contain sacs filled with bacteria that break down the leaves they use through the means of fermentation. This will typically cause a bloated belly appearance and tends to give these poor monkeys some rather gassy side effects.
The red-shanked douc langur has three other close relative species that share the “douc langur” name. The other two are the “gray-shanked” and “black-shanked”. As you can tell by the names, leg color is the major distinction for these species, who are otherwise very similar to each other. However, the “blank-shanked” langur is perhaps the most unusual among it’s relatives in the fact that it has, at times, been observed to leave the treetops on occasion.
This species is best known for its unique colors. They have long speckled grey fur with white arms, black hands and feet, and their distinctive red legs. They have yellow and orange faces that are bearded with long white whiskers, under which is a collar of red fur wrapping around the collar bone. If you’re lucky enough to have one of these queens bat their eyes at you, you’ll see that their eye lids are naturally blushed in a brilliant blue. They also have very long, non-prehensile tails which are used for balance when traveling in trees and leaping through the air.
These monkeys typically grow to be about two feet long and weigh a quarter of a pound, with the males being slightly bigger than the females. An alternate distinction in sex between these monkeys can be indicated by two white patches on the rump. If you see them, you’re looking at a male, and if they don’t have these patches, it’s a female. However, monkeys aren’t very modest, so odds are good you’ll know what sex it is whether you see those patches or not.
Red-shanked Douc Langurs are very social. They live and travel together in groups and get along with each other very well. However, they do have a social hierarchy, with the males being the more dominant party. When the group travels or forages together, the adult males will lead with the young males taking the rear, and the females and their young in the center. They spend most of their time eating, napping and grooming each other. They never leave their tree-top home, not even for water. All the water they need they get from eating leaves and various fruits and flowers. They are generally quiet creatures but will growl or squeal when frightened and thrash about in the branches. They reach maturity at 4-5 years, females before males, and can live up to twenty-five years of age.
Twenty-five years is a long life for these monkeys, but not long enough. For the females breed about every two years, bearing a single offspring. This has proven not to be a match against their major threat of survival—people. Natives of the area kill these monkeys for food and medicine, while poachers catch and sell them as pets or for their body parts. As if this weren’t enough, their homeland has been fiercely destroyed during the Vietnam war. In 2000, these monkeys were endangered. As of 2020, they have reached critical status! In the timespan of three generations of these monkeys, nearly 80 percent of their population has vanished and it continues to decline.
Thankfully, there are organizations like the “Douc Langur Foundation", "WWF", and the Son Tra Nature Reserve. All of which are doing their best to rescue and protect these treetop monarchs from extinction. Unfortunately, not many people know about these incredible douc langurs—but now you do. Be a part of their revival and spread the word!
Refrences:
https://critterfacts.com/redshankeddouc/?doing_wp_cron=1651190127.8679990768432617187500
https://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/redshanked_douc_langur.php
https://vcbt-n.com/products/exploring-wildlife-in-son-tra-nature-reserve/
https://neprimateconservancy.org/red-shanked-douc-langur/
https://traveldanang.org/place/son-tra-peninsula/
https://neprimateconservancy.org/red-shanked-douc-langur/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-shanked_douc
https://www.definitions.net/definition/douc
https://kidadl.com/animal-facts/red-shanked-douc-facts
Submitted By AdelineQuinn
Submitted: 2 years ago ・
Last Updated: 2 years ago