Red-shanked douc
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| Red-shanked Douc | ||||||||||||||
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| Pygathrix nemaeus (Linnaeus, 1771) |
Red-shanked Doucs (Pygathrix nemaeus) are probably the most colourful of mammals. These colourfull and attractive primates are sometimes called the "costumed ape" for their extravagant appearance. This colourfull monkey looks like a little buddha, wearing a gray shirt and black shorts. It sports maroon-red stockings (from knee to ankle) and white forearm length gloves. Its attire is finished with black hands and feet. Their beautiful golden faces are framed by a white ruff, which is considerably fluffier in males. The eyelids are a soft powder blue. The tail is white with a triangle of white hair at the base, males of all ages have white spot on both sides of the corners of the rump patch, females don't have these. Males have red and white genitals!
The word ‘Douc’ (pronounced ‘dook’) is an ancient name of Vietnamese origin. The douc is an arboreal and diurnal monkey, they will eat, sleep and feed in the trees of the forest.
Habitat
All Douc langurs are native to Southeast Asia, specifically the countries Cambodia, China, Laos and Vietnam. The red-shanked douc lanur is thought to be only found in north and central Vietnam and Laos. Before 1967, the douc was completely unstudied. Doucs are found in a variety of habitats: from lowland to mountainous terrain up to 2,000 m (6,560 feet), deciduous, Primary Rainforest and Secondary Rainforest rainforests, in the mid to upper levels of the canopy.
Taxonomic relationships and Size
Even though they are known as "Douc langurs", they are in fact more closely related to the Proboscis Monkey and snub-nosed monkeys, than to other langurs. They are part of the Colobinae subfamily of the Cercopithecidae family.
Like other langurs, the Red-shanked Douc is a long slender monkey. They are 61-76cm tall, tail 56-76cm long, with males slightly larger than females. Males weigh up to 7kg (15,4 pound), females up to 5kg (11 pound). No colour differences between genders (except for the rump spots).
Behaviour, Mating, Reproduction and Lifespan
Douc's are, like all monkeys, social animals and they live in groups, with an average size of 4-15, but groups of up to 50 have been recorded. A group usually consists of 1 or more males and approximately 2 females per male. Both males and females have their own hierarchies and males are dominant to females. Both males and females leave the group they were born in, their natal group.
Like all other Old World monkeys, their tails are not prehensile. They use their tails solely for balance, and use their arms and legs to move through the forest, along established routes. When on the move, the group is led by adult males, the juvenile males bringing up the rear and the females and infants safe in the middle. Doucs are aerial specialists, high up in the canopy. They are very agile and frequently make breath-taking leaps of up to 6 m (20 feet), leaping with their arms outstretched over their heads, pushing off with their legs and landing on two feet first.
When the group is untroubled, Doucs will move noisily from branch to branch, through the trees, crashing through foliage, swinging under branches and leaping with two feet together, displaying their remarkeble sense of balance. But when a group is disturbed, by either a predator or other dangers, they can flee soundlessly through the trees, away from danger. If they get startled, they can give loud barks and rush around the trees slapping branches with their hands and feet. In contrast to how loud they can be when traveling, most of the time they are rather quiet, eating, digesting their bulky food, dozing and quietly grooming each other's fur.
These monkeys communicate by facial expressions. They have a specific play face with the mouth open, teeth partially bared and chin thrust forward. Sometimes, they close their eyes and paw blindly towards each other with remarkable disregard for the hazards of doing this when up a tree. Their fixed stare is a threat display. A grimace with the mouth open and the teeth exposed is a submissive gesture given in response to a stare. It is also used to initiate grooming or play. Douc's have a low-pitched growl that is given as a threat, and a short, harsh distress squeal.
Doucs have been rarely observed in the wild and very little is known about their wild mating and breeding habits. Males and females differ little in size and colouration. Before mating, both genders give a sexual signal with 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 and may turn to look at another spot he considers more suitable for mating. Single-mount and multiple-mount matings have been reported.
Mating takes place from August to December. The pregnancy lasts 165 to 190 days resulting in the birth of a single offspring 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. The baby is born with eyes open and clings to mum from birth. Its body colouration is lighter than an adults. Its short, downy grey hair has a dark stripe down the back and it has a black face and two pale stripes beneath the eyes. As it grows older, it darkens while its face lightens, achieving adult colours at 10 months. 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 reach sexual maturity at about 4 years, while the males reach it at 4-5 years. They have a life span of about 25 years.
Prey and Predator
The Red-shanked douc are diurnal and eat, sleep and feed in the trees of the forest. Their diet consists mostly of leaves high in fibers. Belonging to the subfamily Colobinae, or leaf-eating monkeys, they have large stomachs which are divided into sacs containing bacteria that break down the cellulose in the leaves through fermentation, which give them their pot-bellied look. This also makes them burp a lot from the resulting gas. They prefer to eat small, young and tender leaves, but will also eat fruit like figs, buds, petioles, flowers, bamboo shoots and seeds. They get all the liquid and protein they need from the food they eat and don't need to descend to the ground to drink. Doucs eat 50 different plant species but no animal prey. They are messy and chaotic feeders, dropping much of their food onto the forest floor: old leaves, under-ripe or over-ripe fruits. They eat peacefully together, not quarreling over their food, and have been known to share it with others. Often, they share the same clump of foliage and may even break pieces off and hand them to each other, a type of active generosity that is rare among Old World monkeys. They do not have cheek pouches. This diet provides them with adequate protein and fluids.
The main predator of the red-shanked douc langur are humans. They are threatened throughout their limited range by habitat destruction and hunting. Native people hunt them for food and body parts, which are used in traditional medicine. There is also a very lucrative and illegal wildlife trade for the red-shanked douc langur. During the Vietnam War the douc habitat was heavily bombed and sprayed with defoliants like Agent Orange. Soldiers also used them for target practice, it is said.
Endangered
The red-shanked Douc is on the IUCN Red List of endangered species, and CITES I prohibits international trade. However, Vietnamese laws protecting the Douc have been difficult to enforce.
This article still needs some additions and some of the information I found was contradictory. Additional pictures would be nice.