Rare langur hides in Pu Luong

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Rare langur hides in Pu Luong

04/26/2004 -- 09:45(GMT+7)

 

Ninh Binh, April. 23 (VNA) - Biologists have found

several previously unknown groups of Delacour's

langur, an endangered primate, in the Pu Luong Nature

Reserve in northern Ninh Binh province.

 

According to Fauna and Flora International (FFI),

which announced the discovery, the finding comes at a

crucial juncture for the langur that only lives in

northern Viet Nam and is considered one of the world's

25 most endangered primates.

 

The groups were identified during a joint survey

conducted by the Endangered Primate Rescue Centre (run

by the Frankfurt Zoological Society) and the Pu

Luong-Cuc Phuong Conservation Project (jointly managed

by FFI and the Forest Protection Department).

 

The langur, known in Vietnamese as vooc mong trang

(white-rumped langur) because of its white posterior

and upper legs, is only found in a belt of karst

mountains that stretches across northern Viet Nam.

 

Tilo Nadler, the director of the primate centre that

was founded 10 years ago specifically to promote the

conservation of the langur, believes the latest

sightings raise conservationists' hopes that the

species will survive.

 

" Over half of all populations of the langurs are

severely threatened by hunting, which represents the

greatest short-term threat to the primate.

Additionally, habitat loss and further fragmentation

of the remaining populations makes them extremely

vulnerable to extinction, " Nadler said.

 

This area, known as the Pu Luong-Cuc Phuong limestone

range, represents the last refuge for the species

whose populations are estimated to have declined by

over 50 per cent in the last decade alone.

 

Delacour's langur was most recently sighted during

biological surveys carried out under the auspices of

the Pu Luong-Cuc Phuong Limestone Landscape

Conservation Project, in collaboration with the

primate centre.

 

The project is funded through the World Bank's Global

Environment Facility and the Spanish Agency for

International Co-operation, through Fundeso.

 

It aims to promote the protection of the Pu Luong-Cuc

Phuong karst system and its wildlife by strengthening

the management of the existing protected area system

and supporting sustainable development initiatives

within local communities.--Enditem

 

Copyrights, Vietnam News Agency

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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