Paul Carter (paulcarter@pacapix.com)
Posted 2024 Oct 7. Minor edits: 2024 Oct 10.
SUMMARY
As reported by Van Tuan et al (2019) there is a small population of rare Grey-shanked Douc Langur (Pygathrix cinerea) in a degraded forest area near the Tam My Thay commune (10 km southwest of Nui Thanh and 80 km southeast of Danang). Tuan (now a Danang-based guide) helps support the conservation of these langurs and he took me to the site on 20 July 2024 where we had great views for over an hour.
Contents
a) Grey-shanked Doucs
b) Eco-Farm Reptiles
c) Logistics
d) References
A. GREY-SHANKED DOUCS
Grey-shanked Douc Langur (Pygathrix cinerea) is endemic to Vietnam with about 1,000 individuals remaining. Van Tuan et al (2019) described the discovery and distribution of about 48 Grey-shanked Douc Langur near the Tham My Tay commune. It is a small area where the population comprises small family groups on isolated hill-top forests surrounded by deforested areas. These areas are now protected and are patrolled by a “Community Forest Protection Team”. Access to the forest is through Tuan and the community group.
The village is a two-hour drive from Danang; once at the village we picked up a local ranger and went on motorbikes to the nearby forest. We saw one distant group on Hon Do Hill before our guide picked up another group on Hon Duong Hill and after working our way through some secondary forest we got to within 30 meters of them, spending 90 minutes (from 8.30 AM) watching this group. This second group totaled about 12 animals and included three to four males interacting with the dominant male.
B. ECO-FARM REPTILES
At a nearby Eco Farm we saw Chinese water-dragon (Physignathus cocincinus) and Common Sun Skink (Eutropis multifasciata).
C. LOGISTICS
I had arranged a full day trip with Tuan to see the Grey-shanked Douc Langur. We had good views by mid-morning and instead of waiting to try again in the afternoon we drove back to Danang to see the Red-shanked Douc Langur on Son Tra Peninsula (report here). Before leaving the area we also visited an eco-farm to look for Chinese Water-dragon.
Many other mammal-watchers have hired Tuan to view these langurs and other mammals in the region. His contact details are.
Bui Van Tuan (Mr. Tuan) – Biological Conservationist, HIVOOC CO. LTD.
Call: +84 (0) 914000940 (Zalo/ WhatsApp).
Address: K39/21 Thanh Vinh 1 Street, Tho Quang Ward, Son Tra District, Da Nang city, Vietnam.
Email: Info@hivooc.com. Website: http://www.hivooc.com.
Tuan’s organization contributes towards the community and conservation of these doucs.
D. REFERENCES
Chapman S (2019). Endemic primate weekend, Central Highlands, Vietnam: 5‐7 October, 2019. A trip report posted at mammalwatching.com.
Schouten A and den Hertog J (2023). (Rare) primates in Vietnam (Febr-March 2023). A trip report posted at mammalwatching.com.
Smith C (2024). Primates of North and Central Viet Nam 2024. A trip report posted at https://www.cokesmithwildlife.com/viet-nam-expedition-2024
Van Tuan B, Tam NA, Vy TH, Long HT, Thao NTT, Phung TK, Huy HQ, Huan PM, Nadler T (2019 June). Discovery of Isolated Populations of the ‘Critically Endangered’ Grey-Shanked Douc Langur (Pygathrix cinerea) in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam. Vietnam Journal of Primatology 3(1):19–25.
My Vietnam page includes links to other reports and notes on logistics.