Golden langurs find a safe home in Bodoland

Guwahati: Golden langur, a charismatic primate species conspicuous by its lustrous creamy-golden fur and found only in few forest patches of Assam and Bhutan have got a secure and safe landscape of their own in Western Assam. It is also on the list of 25 most endangered primates of the world.

The forest officials, wildlife activists and villagers have started demarcation of the area by laying the first boundary pillar and welcome signage of the Habitat Conservation of Golden Langur. To mark the occasion an event was organised at Salbari, a fringe village under Chirang district of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).

The participants also took oath to conserve and protect the area for golden langurs, which is the official mascot of the BTC government.

The project was conceived by New Horizon, a community-based organisation, under the guidance of Chirang forest division, BTC and supported by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and its international partner, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

“Forest resources are facing immense threat from encroachment across Assam. In such a situation, an initiative taken by the community, the forest department and NGOs has come as a welcome step in Chirang reserve forest under Manas tiger reserve,” WTI coordinator Bhaskar Choudhury said

A species endemic to semi-evergreen and mixed-deciduous forests of Indo-Bhutan border, Golden langurs (Trachypithecus geei) was known to the western world only after its discovery by naturalist E P Gee in the 1950s. It has already been listed as endangered species in the IUCN Red List and Schedule-I species in Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972).

In India its distribution is confined to approximately 2,500 square kilometer between the rivers Manas in the east, Sankosh in the west and Brahmaputra in the south in Assam. However, habitat destruction had shrunken the area to about 1, 400 sq km, a large portion of which is now in Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD). In Bhutan its distribution is restricted to central Bhutan ranging between Sankosh river and the Chamkhar-Mange-Manas river system.

It is sisgnificant that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has put the golden langur, found only in India and Bhutan, on the list of 25 most endangered primates.

An ICUN report, Primates in Peril (2016-18), released last year, had said habitat threat to golden langurs would worsen considerably despite a number of initiatives.

The wildlife activists working on protecting the Golden Langurs from extinction said that the villagers have agreed not to allow any encroachment in the area. They said that the area demarcation will be completed by the forest department soon in support of the fringe villagers.

“Subsequently, a proposal to declare the whole area a conservation reserve will be moved to the State Wildlife Board, Assam. The area, if approved by the board, will be the first conservation reserve in the state and also in the region,” Mr Choudhury added.