White-headed langur

The light -headed langur ( Trachypithecus poliocephalus ) is a primate of the group of monkeys Slim. It occurs in two highly endangered subspecies, the Goldkopflangur or Cat Ba Langur ( T. p. Poliocephalus ) and the Weißkopflangur ( T. p. Leucocephalus).

Features

Light -headed Schwarzlanguren reach a body length 47-62 centimeters, the tail is 77-89 centimeters considerably longer than the body. Males are larger than females, reaching 8 to 9.5 kg, while females give birth about 6.7 to 8 kilograms on the scales. The fur of these primates is dark brown in color near the back, the head and shoulder region contrasts strongly and is at Goldkopflangur orange or yellowish and whitish at Weißkopflangur. At the top there is a brightly colored head of hair, the face is dark. From the thighs to the back runs a gray, V- shaped pattern. These are slender primates with thin hands and feet, the thumbs are greatly reduced.

Distribution and habitat

Goldkopflanguren are found only on the island of Cat Ba in Halong Bay in northern Vietnam. Weißkopflanguren however, can be found in Karst Regions in Southern China in Guangxi province. Habitat of these animals are forests.

Way of life

Light -headed Schwarzlanguren usually stay on trees. They are skillful climbers who quadrupedal especially in motion. They are diurnal, for the night they retire - especially in bad weather - in karst caves back. They live in groups of five to nine animals. These are harem groups, which usually consist of one male, one or more females and the common offspring.

They are herbivores that mainly feed on leaves, in addition they also take buds, flowers and fruit to himself. A multi-chamber stomach and enlarged salivary glands are adaptations to the stodgy leaves food.

Little is known about reproduction. Most young are born in April to the world, the litter size is usually one. As with all Haubenlanguren the pups are orange striking.

Threat

Both subspecies are threatened in their existence, the IUCN lists the species as a whole as " threatened with extinction " ( critically endangered ).

Goldkopflanguren are among the rarest primates. Of the approximately 2500 to 2800 animals that were alive in the 1960s, the total population has declined to around 80 at the beginning of 2000, and 9 months later at just 52 to 54. The habitat of the Goldkopflanguren is a national park in Vietnam and since the end of the 1990s, also a biosphere reserve and World Heritage Site by UNESCO. However, this species is still very much endangered by poaching due to the belief in the in Traditional Chinese Medicine ( TCM) learned healing effect of crushed bone or dried bodies of the animals and by the expanding tourism in the region. Thanks to a project started in October 2000 in collaboration with the Vietnamese government the stock like this is slow to recover. The Cat Ba Langur Conservation Project was created in collaboration with the Münster Zoo and the Zoological Society for the Protection of Species and Populations ( ZGAP ). The animals are currently living together in small groups in order to form a stable population can. The minimum number of individuals in order to secure the survival of the species, cheating 200 This number can, according to Dr. Roswitha Stenke, the German project manager on Cat Ba, again be reached earlier than in 15 to 20 years.

Also the Weißkopflangur is threatened with extinction, although the total population is still greater than that of Goldkopflanguren with an estimated 600 to 800 animals. Again, a decline in population numbers was recorded in several nature reserves end of the 1990s, after protection measures by the Chinese authorities, the total number slowly begins to rise again.