Word: langurs
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...major problem is habitat erosion. In Vietnam, for example, which is home to four of the 25 most endangered species, habitat loss as a result of development and persistent hunting for food, medicine and animal skins has reduced the populations of species like the golden-headed langur from thousands of animals in the middle of last century to only 65 today. "The more we look at it, the worse the picture seems to get," says Ben Rawson, a Hanoi-based primatologist with Conservation International (CI), another sponsor of the recent report. Conducting primate surveys in the region, he says...
Some urban dwellers are taking matters into their own hands. In parts of Delhi, companies are now employing imposing langur monkeys to protect buildings and scare off the smaller rhesus monkeys. "Any langur will do the business," says Zahid Khan, 20, a langur handler who regularly chains one or two outside the Press Trust of India building, which houses TIME's Delhi bureau. "The monkeys are petrified of them...
...even langur pushers know they're offering only a quick fix. Iqbal Malik, one of India's leading primatologists, estimates there are now 5,000 monkeys in Delhi. Seven years ago, she came up with a plan to create a reserve for the city's monkeys and begin a program of sterilization for selected males. But she says the city fumbled those plans and instead started caging monkeys to create the impression it was doing something...
...deal with such a rare urban problem, Delhi has come up with an unusual response: it's launched a monkey arms race. Companies and city officials have started employing langurs - large, black-faced apes - to protect buildings and scare off the smaller rhesus monkeys. "Any langur will do the business," says Zahid Khan, 20, who has been handling langurs since he was eight and most days chains one or two outside the Press Trust of India building, which houses TIME's Delhi bureau. "The monkeys are petrified of them...
...Until a couple of years ago monkeys used to climb the PTI building and try to raid its offices. One of my predecessors glued shut the windows in our office to keep the marauding animals out. The arrival of the langur took things to another level. With their sharp teeth and long, muscular tail that can swot an errant ape from a couple of feet away, langurs are scary to humans - not just a smaller rhesus monkey. Khan says business is good, despite the recent proliferation of competitors. The company he works for employs twelve langurs, including two that...