(VNF) - A red-shanked douc langur (pygathrix nemaeus) was handed over to the Cuc Phuong national park in the northern province of Ninh Binh by forest rangers in Phu Loc district, the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on August 14.

Red-shanked douc langur in Son Tra Peninsular, Da Nang (source: dantri)

The male red-shanked douc langur (Vietnamese: Vooc chà vá chân đỏ) weighing 6.5kg, was caught in Lang Co town of Phu Loc district by local people on August 13.

About 80 red-shanked douc langurs are living and being protected in North Hai Van protective forest in Thua Thien-Hue.

Douc langurs are found in Southeast Asian countries of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Especially, the beautiful red-shanked douc langur is only found in north and central Vietnam and Laos. Its habitat is in the lowland to montane primary and secondary rainforest where it lives in the mid to upper levels of the canopy.

The red-shanked douc langur is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of endangered species, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) I prohibits international trade, as the main predator of the red-shanked douc langur are humans.

They are threatened throughout their limited range by habitat destruction and illegal hunting and trade./.

( VNF )