An injured male Golden Langur (Trachypithecus geei) was rescued at around 6 PM yesterday on October 13, 2022 at Tongtophey in Langthel, Trongsa by the Jigme Singye Wangchuck National’s Langthel Park Range Official.
A traveler who found the langur injured and lying on the road have reported the incident to the Langthel Park range Office. The park official rushed to the site. Upon assessment of the extent of injury it was found that all its’ lower half of the body has gone numb. It was found that the primate could only move its upper parts and a hand.
Karo Rinchen, a park range official said that it is not exactly known how the langur got injured but he suspected that the langur fell from the tree when the branches broke off. “It looks like when it tried to cross the road leaping from tree to another, and when the branch gave away, it fell on the road tarmac”, Kado Rinchen said.
The langur is currently under observation. It is housed in an enclosure at Tongtophey Primary School, built for waste collection. The health of the animal has improved overnight. According to Kado Rinchen, there is no visible external injury and it has even started walking. The monkey is fed with fruits and observed to be feeding well, literally relishing on the fruits.
Asked about how he plans to release, he shared that once the langur is all good, it will released back to the forests. However, releasing it into a territory of different troop would pose risk to an individual. However, he said that the langur will be released in the same area where it was found injured. “We have seen a troop always languishing and foraging in the area. The injured langur he said should belong to that troop.
Golden Langur locally known as Pchhakar Sergi Dogchen is found only in corridor linking Phrumsengla National Park with Royal Manas National Park and Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park. it is an endangered species of primate endemic to Bhutan and areas of Assam immediately bordering Bhutan. It is believed that there are about 4000 individuals in the wild in Bhutan and about 1000 in Assam. “With the langur populations in Assam severely affected by deforestation and loss of habitat, Bhutan is the last bastion for their survival as a species,” mentioned in a study by Tashi Wangchuk.
