Red-shanked Douc Langur (Pygathrix nemaeus) lives in tropical rainforest across Southeast Asia. It feeds on leaves and fruits. Its conservation status is Critically Endangered.
Fascinating facts about the Red-shanked Douc Langur
- Red-shanked doucs can leap up to 6 meters (20 feet) through the canopy, arms outstretched, landing on two feet. In the wild arm-swinging makes up only about 18 % of their locomotion, dropping to 9.8 % for adult males as body weight rises. This aerial skill lets them stay high above ground predators and reach food on thin branches that heavier primates cannot access, highlighting their role as canopy specialists.
- A red-shanked doucs in central Laos' Nakai-Nam Theun Protected Area contains roughly 4,420 groups, the largest known concentration, while the Sơn Trà Nature Reserve in Vietnam holds 700-1,300 individuals. Their home range averages 36 ha (89 ac), shrinking to 24 ha in the dry season and expanding to 33 ha when rains return. These numbers show how population hotspots and seasonal range shifts are crucial for targeting conservation actions.
- Red-shanked doucs digest a high-fiber diet thanks to a four-chambered stomach that ferments plant material. In Sơn Trà they eat 54.8 % buds and young leaves, 22.6 % mature leaves, 3.7 % leaf petioles and 18.9 % other parts, pulling from a monthly average of 18 plant species and a total of 226 species recorded. This dietary flexibility underpins their ability to survive in varied forest types across Indochina.
- Groups of red-shanked doucs live in multilevel, fission-fusion societies averaging 18 individuals per band, with 2.7 units per band and 6.5 individuals per unit; the largest recorded bands reach 50 monkeys. Males outnumber females 1.0:1.63, and adult-to-young ratios sit at 1.1:1.0. Such fluid social structure helps reduce feeding competition.
- The IUCN upgraded the red-shanked douc from Endangered in 2000 to Critically Endangered in 2020, noting that over half the population vanished in the past 30-40 years. Hunting kills about 50 individuals per year in Dong Ampham National Protected Area, and from 2015-2018 Vietnamese authorities seized 13 kg of douc meat.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeSoutheast Asia
HabitatTropical rainforest
DietLeaves and fruits
About the Red-shanked Douc Langur
In the lush, emerald canopies of Southeast Asia's ancient forests, the Red-shanked Douc Langur weaves a delicate path, its slender fingers and toes barely disturbing the leafy branches as it navigates with effortless ease. With eyes like shimmering polished onyx, this rare and enigmatic creature surveys its surroundings, its movements a testament to the intricate, hidden world of the forest's upper tiers. As it leaps and bounds through the trees, the Douc Langur's rust-hued shanks flash like fleeting brushstrokes of crimson, a vivid splash of color in a realm of dappled greens and umbers.
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Red-shanked Douc Langur photographed on Feravox
