Red-Shanked Douc
Kingdom
Phylum
Subphylum
Class
Order
Suborder
Infraorder
Genus
SPECIES
Pygathrix nemaeus
Population size
Unknown
Life Span
25 years
Weight
8-11
17.6-24.2
kglbs
kg lbs 
Length
54.5-61
21.5-24
cminch
cm inch 

The Red-shanked douc (Pygathrix nemaeus) is a diurnal Old World monkey. They are the most colorful monkeys among all species of primates. Red-shanked doucs live in fission-fusion, multilevel societies, and communicate with each other using various facial expressions.

Di

Diurnal

He

Herbivore

Fo

Folivore

Ar

Arboreal

Br

Browsing

Pr

Precocial

Zo

Zoochory

No

Nomadic

Te

Terrestrial

Vi

Viviparous

Po

Polygyny

So

Social

Do

Dominance hierarchy

No

Not a migrant

R

starts with

Appearance

Red-shanjed doucs are considered “Queen of primates” thanks to their distinctive and unique appearance. They have agouti hair on their crown, temples, inner thighs, ventral coat, nape of the neck, back, triceps, and lateral sides of their arms. Their crown is silver, their temples are red hair and their foreheads are black. They have white whiskers for adult males. Their eyes have a high axis. The fur on their cheeks and on their throat is white. Their collar is orange with black from one shoulder to the other. Their face is a yellow-brown color and they have light blue eyelids. Their inner arms and inner, lateral, and back thighs are black while their lower legs are a vibrant red. Their abdomen and back are silver yet their sacral area is white. Both feet and hands are black as well as their nipples. Their tails are white and are oftentimes equal in length to their head and body length. There is a slight difference in rump markings between males and females; the male has round white spots above the triangle of white on his rump, while the female does not. Males of all ages also have a white spot on both sides of the corners of the rump patch.

Video

Distribution

Geography

Continents
Subcontinents
Biogeographical realms

Red-shanked doucs are found in southeast Asia. They are native to Indochina; Vietnam, Southern Laos and possibly Northeastern Cambodia. These monkeys live in a variety of habitats: from lowland to mountainous terrain, semi-deciduous, primary and secondary rainforests, in the mid to upper levels of the canopy.

Red-Shanked Douc habitat map

Climate zones

Red-Shanked Douc habitat map
Red-Shanked Douc
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Habits and Lifestyle

Red-shanked doucs are arboreal and diurnal monkeys that eat and sleep in the trees of the forest. They occasionally get on the ground to drink water or eat dirt that contains minerals. Like all monkeys, they are social animals that live in groups of 4-15, but may also agthr in groups of up to 50. A group usually consists of one or more males and approximately two females per male. Both males and females have their own hierarchies and males are dominant to females. Both males and females will eventually leave the group they were born into. When on the move, the group is led by adult males, with juvenile males bringing up the rear and the females and infants staying safe in the middle. These monkeys prefer moving high up in the canopy and are very agile. They frequently make breath-taking leaps of up to 6 meters (20 feet). When the group is untroubled, Red-shanked doucs move noisily from branch to branch through the forest, displaying their remarkable sense of balance. But when the group is disturbed, it can flee soundlessly through the trees, away from danger. If it is startled, it may give loud barks and rush around the trees slapping branches with their hands and feet. In contrast to their noisy travel, doucs spend most of their time quietly eating, digesting their bulky food, dozing and grooming each other's fur.

Seasonal behavior

Diet and Nutrition

Red-shanked doucs are herbivores (folivores). They prefer to eat small, young and tender leaves, but will also eat fruit like figs, buds, petioles, flowers, bamboo shoots, and seeds.

Mating Habits

MATING BEHAVIOR
REPRODUCTION SEASON
August-December
PREGNANCY DURATION
165-190 days
BABY CARRYING
1 infant
FEMALE NAME
female
MALE NAME
male
BABY NAME
infant

Red-shanked doucs are polygynous which means that males mate with more than one female during the breeding season. Before mating, both genders attract each other with signals that inckude the jaw forward, eyebrows raised and then lowered, and a head-shake. The female makes the first move, lying face-down on a branch, eyeing her chosen mate by looking over her shoulder. The male returns with a stare. Mating takes place from August to December. The pregnancy lasts between 165-190 days, resulting in the birth of a single baby just before fruiting season of some favorite foods. Twins are very rare. The young are born with their eyes wide open and they cling to their mothers instinctively. In captivity, other group members may look after an infant, and other females may even suckle it. In one study, an orphaned infant was fed by two females in the group and also cared for by a male. Females in this species reach reproductive maturity at about 4 years, while the males become mature at 4-5 years.

Population

Population threats

The major threat to this species at presnt is hunting, most often for subsistence use and traditional medicine. Local people often hunt Red-shanked doucs for food, pets or making glue. For the population in Son Tra (Vietnam), habitat loss due to development plan poses the biggest risk to them.

Population number

The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Red-shanked douc total population size. According to Wikipedia in Son Tra (Vietnam), the douc population is around 1300 individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing.

Ecological niche

As herbivorous animals, Red-shanked doucs serve as plant dispersers of their range.

References

1. Red-Shanked Douc on Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-shanked_douc
2. Red-Shanked Douc on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/39826/10272920

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