Rare Discovery – Grey-Shanked Douc Monkey
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Scientists just have discovered the world’s largest known population of the critically endangered grey-shanked douc monkey in Vietnam, raising hopes that the species will survive.
The grey-shanked douc has only been recorded in the 5 Vietnamese provinces of Quang Nam, Kon Tum, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, and Gia Lai. Less than 1,000 of these creatures are believed to still exist, and up to now, only one other population with more than 100 animals was known. Photo U2Rob
“This is an exciting and important discovery because of the large size of the population.� said Barney Long, Central Truong Son Conservation Landscape Coordinator for WWF Greater Mekong – Vietnam Program. “It’s very rare to discover a population of this size with such high numbers in a small area, especially for a species on the brink of extinction. This indicates that the population has not been impacted by hunting like all other known populations of the species.�
To date, only a small part of the Que Phuoc Commune in Quang Nam Province has been surveyed, meaning significantly more doucs may live in nearby areas, reports Conservation International.
“To put it into a human perspective, this discovery is like finding a new country with over 1 billion people in it.� said Ben Rawson, a Regional Wildlife Biologist for CI’s Indo-Burma Program. “We now have a much greater opportunity to overcome the very serious threats faced by this species and prevent its disappearance from our planet.� Photo Oeyvind
Grey-shanked doucs are tree-dwelling colobine 
monkeys with orange faces and tufts of whiskers. These primates face an uncertain future due to hunting and habitat loss. A 2006 IUCN assessment determined that 65 percent of Vietnam’s primate taxa are Endangered or Critically Endangered, making the country one of the highest global priorities for primate conservation.
A WWF survey team discovered the new douc population while studying the region for possible future creation of a new protected area. Photo Funbury
Tran Khanh Duong, who led the most recent surveys, was trained through CI’s Primate Conservation Training Course operated in collaboration with Hanoi University of Science, the University of Colorado-Boulder and the Frankfurt Zoological Society. He then received a small grant and mentoring to run the surveys, showing the impact on primate conservation and career development from such training and funding programs. Photo TLHansell
Tran Khanh Duong, trained through CI’s Primate Conservation Training Course, received a small grant and mentoring to run the recent surveys, showing the impact on primate conservation.
“When I gave up economics to pursue my passion for wildlife, I never dreamed that I would be able to make such an impact.� Duong said. “I look forward to continuing my work at the site to ensure that this population is protected.�
The doucs are located in the proposed “Central Quang Nam Species and Habitat Conservation Area�, which the Quang Nam Forest Protection Department (FPD) hopes will receive full legal protection by the Provincial People’s Committee. Establishment of this protected area will protect the globally important population of grey-shanked doucs, along with a herd of elephants that live in the lowland forests to the south.
The area is currently threatened by illegal logging and poaching, and construction of a new road that would bisect the forest. A new management plan developed by Que Son FPD with WWF support that aims to protect the douc and elephant populations is awaiting final approval and financial support form the Provincial People’s Committee.
The surveys were funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, WWF-US and the Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation.
UPDATE: My deepest apologies to everyone that had commented on this post — there was an error in the URL. The only option to fix this was to delete the post and re-create it.
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They have such expressive faces.
Definitely, Jackal. My favorite is the mother feeding her young. There’s a lot of emotion in her face caught in that photo.
they are good looking
i like them very much
i want to keep it as a dog
hehe
That’s the whole thing Keevin, many people are raising them as pets these days
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Dear all,
Your website is really cool! I’m Khanh Duong, it’s really fantastic feeling when we see them in forest. If you want to see more and want to know more about that, I will share it with you anytime you want to hear. And if one day you come in Vietnam and want to see them in the forest, let me know, I will show you, how to get there and see their life. Never forget that feeling.
Cheers.
*******
For greener planet.
Thanks Khanh
So I take it that you have been there and seen them yourself? What an amazing experience that would be 
this is exciting news! i love animals and i’m very much interested in conservation efforts. i believe we should protect all species and this discovery really is great news! thanks for sharing!
A great article. Being a joinery manufacturer and a flooring supplier I spend vast amounts of time making sure that use use timber from sustainable forest. We recently had a client who liked to call herself “green” yet at the same time on an order for flooring was not willing to spent just a small amount of money more to have her flooring from a stamped sustainable sourse. Maybe she should read articles like yours to see the reasons why we need to protect our forest from illegal logging so that our wild life can servive.
I can see alot of people wanting to keep these animals as pets, they are so cute. I only woner what kind of tempreament they would have?