Golden Langur (scientific name: Trachypithecus geei) is also known as Gee’s Golden Langur in English. There are 2 subspecies.
Golden Langurs live in groups, with 2-12 in each group, usually consisting of one or two mature male monkeys and multiple female monkeys and their offspring. Active during the day, more active in the early morning and evening, resting in the midday heat. These monkeys spend most of their time in trees, using their tails to balance their bodies when jumping, and only rarely come down to the ground. They are mainly herbivorous, eating fruits, leaves, seeds, buds and flowers. They drink water from leaves during the rainy season.
Although little is known about the reproduction of golden leaf monkeys, it has been observed that they can mate and reproduce almost all year round. The birth is affected by climate and vegetation changes, and the birth is concentrated. In a gestation period of about 6 months, females will produce one baby. Male offspring will disperse to other places after adulthood or leave the group where they were born.
The main reasons for the species' survival were listed in 2003 as "plantations, grazing, destruction of non-woody vegetation for firewood and charcoal production, selective logging, wood collection, human settlement, deforestation, forest fragmentation, trade, killing by domestic dogs, habitat loss, high juvenile mortality, inbreeding, and local trade in live animals as pets and road shows. Due to road construction and other human activities (establishment of settlements), the northern and southern species have become isolated and completely separated, which has led to the loss of habitat fragmentation for survival. India is also expected to decline further due to mustard cultivation and other human activities, which pose a potential threat to the survival of the species. The golden langur is endangered, with a population of only 1,064 as of 2001, and their population is estimated to be declining due to the lack of young monkeys.
Due to habitat destruction, the population of the golden langur is restricted to fragmented forest patches, particularly in India. Habitat destruction is the main threat to this species in India. Hunting is prohibited in the Abhaya rubber plantation, but electrocution from power lines and hunting by dogs are local threats that are affecting the species population. A comparative analysis based on satellite images taken in 1988 and 1998 shows that the original habitat of the species in India has decreased by 50%. Although commercial logging is prohibited in the protected areas where the species lives, illegal encroachment and timber poaching have severely affected these forest reserves. Quarrying and its associated noise pollution, as well as artillery firing in the Bamuni Hills, may also have a negative impact.
In addition to natural habitats, the golden langur is also found in wildlife sanctuaries in India and Bhutan. In Bhutan, a combination of four different national parks and wildlife sanctuaries covers most of the area where the golden langur lives. In Assam, India, they live in two wildlife sanctuaries there, as well as parts of fragmented reserve forests, proposed reserve forests, and other non-forest areas.
Listed in the "Red List of Threatened Species of the World Conservation Union" (IUCN) 2008 ver 3.1 - Endangered (EN).
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