Endangered langurs return to northern Vietnam wilderness

Cuc Phuong National Park, in cooperation animal welfare organization Four Paws Viet, transferred the Delacour's langurs (Trachypithecus delacouri) to Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex in the province for release back to nature.

The complex used to host Delacour's langurs during the 90s, though all were wiped out by hunting, said Do Van Lap, deputy director of Cuc Phuong National Park, during the transfer ceremony.

Releasing the langurs back into the complex would not only help the species’ recover, but also raise conservation awareness, he added.

Delacour's langur populations have inhabited Cuc Phuong National Park since the early 90s, said Lap. This lead to the creation of an endangered primate conservation project at the park, which aims to rescue, take care of and rehabilitate endangered primate species, so they could eventually be released back into nature and recover their populations in the wild.

Since 2000, the project has succeeded in rehabilitating and releasing back into the wild hundreds of endangered primates, including the release of several langur and slow loris species to multiple national parks and conservation sites.

In the coming years, the project plans to release over 30 more individuals of several primate species back to the wild.

The Delacour's langur is classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Their population has been declining due to habitat loss, local development of tourism, and hunting for use in traditional medicine.