Langurs find a happy home in Singapore zoo

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Earth Matters: Langurs find a happy home in zoo

Loretta Ann Soosayraj

 

Nov 25: An endangered wild primate, the douc langur has been bred

successfully in captivity at the Singapore zoo. LORETTA ANN SOOSAYRAJ speaks

to the people involved.

 

WHEN you give an animal a home, you owe it a responsibility to give it the

very best care. Not the best you can offer but the best it deserves. And

this is what the folk behind the Singapore Zoological Gardens, and

specifically, its Primate Kingdom, believe. Not only is its resident

red-shanked douc langur (Pygathrix nemaeus) family happy and healthy, but

also increasing in size.

 

The zoo acquired its first batch of two pairs in 1988. Three animals

subsequently died, so another pair was brought from Thailand. Once the

initial problems were ironed out, the primates settled in and began

multiplying. Since then, the zoo has seen 12 douc langur births, although

four langurs died in infancy. The current group comprises 13 animals, which

include the two latest additions that were born a few days apart in August

this year.

 

" Our success today is all due to the dedication of our keepers, " says Subash

Chandran, the zoo's assistant director. " An example of how interested the

keepers are is evident in the fact that they go around the gardens every day

collecting a variety of leaves for the langurs which are mainly leaf-eaters.

In the wild, these animals eat up to 50 different kinds of leaves and the

keepers understand how important this is, " he said. If they ingest other

kinds of food such as nuts and fruit, for example, they can fall ill and

die. When zoo visitors feed them peanuts, for instance, this is what

happens. So keen and enthusiastic are the primate keepers that they observe

what the free-ranging leaf monkeys at the zoo eat and collect those same

leaves for the douc langurs in the exhibit.

 

At the zoo, the langurs are housed on an island. Being arboreal creatures,

they spend all day swinging on the vines and branches of specially

constructed fake trees. Housing them this way, instead of in cages like many

other zoos, does give the animals a better quality of life. But it also

means that the keepers have to be extra vigilant in monitoring the animals

because of reduced proximity levels. There are, however, no compromises in

the quality of care given to their wards.

 

Keeper Muhamad Aris comes out with a bucket of food and walks on the long

grass of the island in his trusty gum boots. He calls out to the langurs,

drawing them down from the canopy-high shelter. They bound down, reaching

for his outstretched hand offering them morsels of food. " If they are sick,

we can tell … from their fur or their behaviour, like if they are inactive, "

says Aris. " So while there is no direct contact, " explains senior assistant

curator Francis Lim, " the langurs know the keepers well enough to eat out of

their hands. " This is important for two reasons: to check for injuries or

illnesses and to make sure each animal is eating the correct amount of food.

Such close monitoring would not be possible if the animals were fed using

food troughs. Assistant supervisor of the Primate Kingdom, Wahid Bahari, who

has worked with primates for over 20 years, says that few zoos have had

success in keeping and breeding this highly endangered animal, perhaps

because of the difficulty in dietary needs. " Here, our tropical climate

means it is easy to get the variety of leaves that they need. " Both Subash

and Lim, who have been with the zoo for more than 30 years, make working

visits to zoos abroad to learn as much as they can. " We also have zoo people

from overseas who pass through here, offering tips, " says Subash. Since

things are going so well, are there any plans to release these langurs back

into the wild someday? " Well, it is not impossible for primate species.

Carnivores, for instance, are more difficult because you would need to teach

them to hunt, " says Subash. There is, of course, a specific methodology

involved for reintroduction. Initially, support feeding would be necessary,

for example, but the animals would be gradually weaned off this. " As long as

there is a suitable habitat available, it is possible. But there are things

beyond our control. It must be a protected forest. What if we were to

release them, only to have them killed by poachers.

 

There are plans to eventually send surplus animals to other zoos, but " only

to institutions of repute, " insists Subash, " and that too, on breeding

loans. " Some conservationists consider captive breeding as a last resort,

but it could be the only way for this colourful primate that seems to be

fighting a losing battle.

 

The writer can be contacted at loretta