Golden langur
Gee's golden langur (Trachypithecus geei ), also known as simply the golden langur, is an Old World monkey found in a small region of Western Assam, India and in the neighboring foothills of the Black Mountains of Bhutan. Long considered sacred by many Himalayan people, the golden langur was first brought to the attention of the western world by the naturalist Edward Pritchard Gee in the 1950s. Adult males have a cream to golden coat with darker flanks while the females and juveniles are lighter. It has a black face and a long tail up to 50 cm (19.69 in) in length. It lives in high trees and has a herbivorous diet of ripe and unripe fruits, mature and young leaves, seeds, buds and flowers. The average group size is eight individuals, with a ratio of several females to each adult male. It is one of the most endangered primate species of India and Bhutan.
The Gee's golden langur belongs to the Old World monkey family and is one of the most endangered primate species of India. Long considered sacred by many Himalayan people, Golden langurs were first brought to the attention of the western world by the naturalist E. P. Gee in the 1950s. These monkeys have a black face and a very long tail. Their coat ranges from cream to golden; on the flanks and chest the hairs are darker and often rust coloured. The coats of the juveniles and females are lighter, silvery white to light buff.
Gee's golden langurs are found in a small region of western Assam, India and in the neighboring foothills of the Black Mountains of Bhutan. These monkeys live in tropical moist forests.
Gee's golden langurs are arboreal and diurnal creatures. They prefer to forage early in the morning and afternoon, resting during the heat of midday. They spend most of their time in the canopy of trees and rarely come down to the ground. Gee's golden langurs are social and generally live in troops of about 8 (but sometimes up to 50) with several females to each adult male. Little is known about the social habits of these monkeys within the group, however, it has been noted that social grooming is a very important group activity. This way they strengthen the bonds between members of their group.
Gee's golden langurs are herbivorous (frugivorous, folivorous) animals. Their diet consists of ripe and unripe fruits, mature and young leaves, seeds, buds and flowers.
Lilttel is known about the mating system in Gee's golden langurs. Their breeding season takes place at any time of the year. Females give birth to a single infant after a gestation period of around 6 months. Feeding and all of the care for the infant is provided by the mother and other females in the troop.
Habitat destruction is the main threat to Gee's golden langurs due to illegal encroachment and woodcutting. These monkeys also suffer from harvesting of non-woody vegetation for firewood and charcoal production, selective logging, timber collection, human settlement, deforestation, fragmentation, trade, domestic dogs, high juvenile mortality, inbreeding, and local trade as pets and in road shows.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of Gee's golden langurs is 5,500 individuals with less than 2,500 mature individuals globally. There are less than 1,500 individuals in India and around 4,000 individuals in Bhutan. Overall, this species’ numbers are decreasing and it is currently classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List.
