Efforts mooted to save rare monkey

Taking action: (From left) Raffles’ Banded Langur Working Group chairman Dr Andie Ang, Chow and USM Prof Mashlor Mansor showing images of the rare monkey.

JOHOR BARU: The lack of awareness of a rare monkey species – presbytis femoralis – which is unique to Johor and Singapore is threatening its existence.

The monkey, commonly known as Raffles’ Banded Langur or Lotong Cenekah, is black in colour and its features often cause it to be confused with another similar-looking species – trachypithecus obscurus or Dusky Langur.

Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) vice-president Vincent Chow said a collaboration between MNS, Nature Society Singapore, Raffles’ Banded Langur Working Group, Iskandar Regional Development Authority and other non-governmental organisations was initiated to come up with a long-term action plan to protect this species.

“These monkeys can be found in Kluang, Kota Tinggi and Pulai in Johor. The long-term plan is also to find out the monkeys’ lifespan and habits so that they could carry out conservation measures as needed.

“There are no such studies on this species in Malaysia and there were overseas groups that came but they wrongly identified it as the Dusky Langur because of their colour,” Chow, who is also Johor MNS chairman, said at a roundtable discussion held yesterday.