The corpses of five grey-shanked douc langurs (pygathrix cinerea) who are one of the world’s 25 most critically endangered primates. — Photo courtesy of Chí Đại

QUẢNG NGÃI — Local ranger and police forces have been tracking illegal hunters who killed five grey-shanked douc langurs (pygathrix cinerea). The remains of the critically endangered species were found at Kon Căng forest in Kon Dốc commune of the central province’s Ba Tơ District.

The grey-shanked douc langur is listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list as one of the world’s 25 most critically endangered primates. The primates can only be found in Việt Nam.

Head of Ba Tơ forest protection section, Ngô Vĩnh Phong, said remains of the five endangered primates were found by a patrol on October 8. The local rangers, police and militia recovered valuable evidence left behind by the hunters which they hope will aid their investigation. 

He said hunters had left the forest when rangers came, leaving the five corpses, one motorbike, an air tank, 53 dust shots and a silencer at the site.

Phong said the illegal hunters used handmade air guns to kill the primates, based on an examination of the bodies.  

The forest is under the management of Ba Tơ forestry private company, he added.

It’s the worst illegal hunting case of endangered wildlife in the province since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Frankfurt Zoological Society, some 1,000 grey-shanked doucs have been found in forests of Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi, Bình Định, Kon Tum and Gia Lai.

According to the provincial forest department, at least three illegal logging cases have been found in protected forest areas in Phổ Phong Commune of Đức Phổ Town, Sơn Long Commune of Sơn Tây District and Long Môn Village in Minh Long District between late September and early October.

The province plans to allocate 6ha of coastal forest protection area for the development of the Dung Quất-Sa Huỳnh Road. — VNS