Red-shanked Douc Langur

Red-shanked doucs mainly eat leaves, relying on a four-chambered stomach that ferments fibrous plant material.

With that said, they are still rather flexible eaters, consuming a wide range of foods throughout the seasons.

Remarkably, these langurs share meals, peacefully breaking foliage and passing it to one another, showing a communal and generous nature when foraging.

Red-shanked doucs also use a variety of facial expressions for communication, including a “play face” - a partially bared mouth and chin thrust forward.

They also have distinct signals, like a fixed stare for threats and a grimace for submission. During play, they sometimes blink to display their light blue eyelids.

Living in groups averaging 18 members, red-shanked doucs are agile aerialists, leaping up to six metres in the forest canopy.

Adult males lead the group during movement, with juveniles in the rear and females and infants safely in the middle.

Although their tails aren’t prehensile, they use them for balance while navigating the treetops.

In 2020, the IUCN classified red-shanked doucs as critically endangered due to their continuous declining population.

Hunting poses a severe threat, driven by demand for meat, traditional medicine, and the pet trade.

Habitat fragmentation and agricultural land conversion further endanger the species, making conservation efforts crucial for their survival.