Monkey around

With thick pink lips, a small upturned nose, wispy eyebrows and white and black fur the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey is certainly a striking character. He’s also one of Vietnam’s most elusive residents, worryingly so.

In fact the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey is one of the world’s 25 most endangered species. But conservationists from FFI’s Hanoi office were celebrating earlier this month when a small enclave of Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys was discovered in Tung Vai commune of Ha Giang province, a remote forested area in northern Vietnam.

Paul Insua-Cao, the coordinator of Fauna and Flora International (FFI)’s Vietnam Primate Programme, says this discovery offers renewed hope for the monkey’s future. There were 15-20 individual monkeys identified but there could be as many as 60 in the area, but according to Insua-Cao, “the total population size there remains unclear” for now.

“This find is of great significance because a large proportion of the total global population of snub-nosed monkeys is living in Vietnam,” says Insua-Cao. Believed to be extinct until the late 1980s, there are around 200 Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys left in the world.

As a result, the primate is listed as Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List of Endangered Species. The species is known to be present in just two of Vietnam’s northern-most provinces, Tuyen Quang and Ha Giang. This discovery was no accident but the result of a concerted effort by FFI to locate new populations of the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey.

“We worked with local people and authorities while seeking the primate. We interviewed people and showed them photos of the monkeys to try and verify identification,” says Hoang Van Lam from FFI. In a statement released earlier this month, FFI stated, “While interviewing communities near the Chinese border last year, it emerged that villagers in the Tung Vai commune had sighted the strange looking monkeys after seeing rare film footage of them that FFI had supplied to a national television network last year.”

On the strength of these reports, in April 2008 an FFI-led team of biologists observed 15-20 individuals from the endangered species in a small forest patch in Ha Giang’s Quan Ba district near the Chinese border. There were also three infants – an encouraging sign, indicating that this is a breeding population.

“While observing this group, the biologists noted that the monkeys were very sensitive to the presence of people, giving warning signs to one another and fleeing the area whenever the team approached. It was apparent that the monkeys associated humans with danger – perhaps due to ongoing threats from hunters,” continued FFI’s statement. Insua-Cao believes the monkeys have recently been hunted by locals for meat and the making of traditional medicine. While the discovery is massive news, the situation is still critical.

“We have to combine with all relevant agencies to protect them,” says Insua-Cao, who believes there may be another one or two monkey groups that also exist in this area. The FFI team did its best to capture images of this fast moving and elusive monkey.

A FFI biologist, Le Khac Quyet has made a name for himself as one of the few people in the world who can claim to be an expert on this mysterious species and is credited with discovering both the new population and another one in Khau Ca forest, also in Ha Giang, back in 2002.

“When I saw the Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys in Tung Vai commune I was overjoyed,” says Quyet. “This new discovery further underlines the importance of learning more about the Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys’ range and distribution.” The population of Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys in Khau Ca forest, which is adjacent to Du Gia Nature Reserve, is the largest known with an estimated 90 individuals. It is also the only population not in decline and is considered the most important for the survival of the species.

According to FFI, the presence of the monkeys in Khau Ca is important for two key reasons. Firstly, as a range restricted and critically endangered primate, the seemingly current population of around 90 individuals could represent the most significant chance for conserving the species. Secondly, the presence of the monkeys demonstrates that hunting is currently low.

The persistence of the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey and the excellent forest quality relate to low rates of extraction by local people, which indicates that the forest can host many other important biodiversity values. Lam says a team of forest patrols have been set up in Khau Ca to protect the forest and monkeys.

But the fact that there is possibly a population of 60 monkeys in Tung Vai is wonderful news as it means now that all the eggs are not in one basket. However much work needs to be done to protect both populations. “Vietnamese people should be proud of the existence of these monkeys because they are very rare globally and on the brink of extinction,” says Insua-Cao.

“There is still time to save this unique species, but with just 200 or so left and threats still strong, we need to act now,” adds Quyet. Quyet recalls the time in April this year when some local people reported that a patrol team consisting of border guards and militiamen had encountered a snub-nosed monkey group. “Some members of this team wanted to shoot these animals and the border guards had to stop these militiamen,” he says.

“We don’t know what would have happened if there was no border guard with them. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance conservation awareness to those with the right to bear arms.” Hunting is a major threat to survival of the monkeys in Tung Vai forest and its adjacent areas. In early April there were reports of gunshots heard in the monkey’s habitat. According to local guides hunting guns are kept in field camps so it is difficult for local authorities to control and manage them.