Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Silvered langur endangered, but plentiful in Kingdom

Silvered langur endangered, but plentiful in Kingdom

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
The biggest threats to silvered langurs are the transformation of wildlife sanctuaries, forest fires and hunters. Birdlife

Silvered langur endangered, but plentiful in Kingdom

Some 3,000 Indochinese silvered langurs – monkeys native to Southeast Asia and considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – are believed to be living in the eastern part of Cambodia.

Wildlife Conservation Society country director Ken Serey Rotha told The Post on Sunday that most of the silvered langurs in Cambodia live in Keo Seima, Lumphat and Srepok wildlife sanctuaries.

The langurs gravitate towards the Sekong and Srepok rivers, he said.

“Globally, the population of the silvered langur has decreased by around 50 per cent in recent decades. In Cambodia, although their numbers are also decreasing because of some threatening factors, the population is still quite high.

“It is an endangered species, but in Cambodia, due to the country’s many favourable conditions, there are more than 3,000,” Serey Rotha said.

He said silvered langurs eat fruits and leaves, and in the process transport plant seeds to different areas, thus promoting plant growth in forests.

He said the most threatening factor to the silvered langurs is their loss of shelter due to wildlife sanctuaries being transformed into agricultural and agro-industrial land.

Forest fires also present a threat to the monkeys, as well as hunters who sell them to be eaten or used in traditional medicines.

Serey Rotha called on farmers and other citizens to help prevent forest fires and the poisoning and hunting of the silvered langurs.

“According to an annual report, the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary is home to 1,000 to 3,000 silvered langurs. Thus, if we add this number to those living in other wildlife sanctuaries, such as Prek Toal and other areas in Preah Vihear province, there could be more than 3,000 of them,” he said.

The BirdLife International Cambodia Programme has noticed the presence of silvered langurs as well.

The organisation said: “They were found in moderately dense forests and forests along the rivers. In early April, about 90 silvered langurs were noted by the rangers at Lumphat Wildlife Sanctuary and a number of hunting nets and traps were seized.”

It said threatening factors to the silvered langurs were the loss of forests along the rivers that provide them shelter and hunters using nets to snare them.

BirdLife programme director Bou Vorsak said his team used to see silvered langurs along the Sekong River, Srepok River as well as in Lumphat Wildlife Sanctuary.

“Our organisation considers bird conservation our primary purpose, but we also look after and monitor other wildlife and forests in the areas we conserve as well.

“Our organisation is working at the Lumphat and Siam Pang wildlife sanctuaries, and we always catch glimpses of the silvered langurs,” he said.

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • CP denied registration documents by ministry

    The Ministry of Interior will not reissue registration documents to the Candlelight Party (CP). Following a September 21 meeting between ministry secretary of state Bun Honn and CP representatives, the ministry cited the fact that there is no relevant law which would authorise it to do

  • Ream base allegations must end, urges official

    A senior government official urges an end to the allegations and suspicions surrounding the development of Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base, now that Prime Minister Hun Manet has addressed the issue on the floor of the 78th UN General Assembly (UNGA 78). Jean-Francois Tain, a geopolitical

  • Manet touches down in Beijing for high-level meetings

    Prime Minister Hun Manet arrived in Beijing on September 14 for his first official visit to China, where he is slated to attend the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and meet other leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping. Upon his arrival, Manet laid a wreath at the Monument