KUALA LUMPUR – A family of about 20 endangered dusky leaf monkeys were killed by Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) personnel in Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan, recently.
It is understood only two of the primates, known also as langurs or lutungs, from the same family survived the shooting that took place on Wednesday morning, while one is believed to be seriously injured after being shot.
Perhilitan had supposedly acted on a public complaint of aggressive monkeys in the area, but residents rubbished this, saying the lutungs are a shy species afraid to even approach humans.
The matter first came to light after a resident of a government quarters in Batu Dua, Nurul Azreen Sultan, took to Facebook to highlight the killing of the langurs, known for the white patches around their eyes, giving them a bespectacled look.
According to Azreen, she heard more than 20 loud bangs behind her house that morning, which she initially thought were fireworks going off.
One of her neighbours, however, told her that Perhilitan officers were shooting at the monkeys, and that the dead primates were being stuffed in sacks and carried away.
When she rushed out, Perhilitan personnel were already leaving in their vehicle.
They left in their wake one dead langur stuck on a tree, which was only retrieved much later, and the screeching of another injured langur running into the wooded area, leaving fresh blood stains on the ground, and empty shotgun shells.
Speaking to The Vibes, Azreen said the episode has been traumatising for her and her neighbours, who have never had any issues with the langurs.
“The most upsetting thing was when my neighbour saw the mother langur being shot and falling to the ground. The mother langur then tried to reach out to her infant on the tree, but the Perhilitan officer killed the baby, too.”
Langur attack? ‘Impossible’
Azreen said the Perhilitan officer in charge of the operation later told her father via a WhatsApp message that the department received a complaint from an adjacent teachers’ quarters of a monkey attack in the area.
In a separate message to her neighbour, the Perhilitan officer said they had to act on the complaint as residents were at risk.
However, Azreen said it was impossible for the langurs to have entered the teachers’ quarters as there is no direct route for the monkeys via the wooded area.
“The langurs would never walk on the road. Instead, there is a separate forest area on their side (teachers’ quarters), meaning the attack would have been from macaques (kera) there and not the langurs here.
“Also, the incident where a teacher was attacked actually happened a few months back. It’s perplexing why Perhilitan is acting on it now,” she said.
Azreen is also certain the monkeys killed were endangered dusky langurs, going by the distinct white rings around their eyes, adding that the family of about 20 primates have been living in the area for years now.
When asked by a neighbour through WhatsApp if the Perhilitan officers knew the primates were langurs, one of them replied: “I know my field of work.”
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, the dusky langur (trachypithecus obscurus) is categorised as endangered, with a decreasing population trend.
The Vibes has contacted Negri Sembilan Perhilitan for comment.
Meanwhile, Azreen said she has lodged a police report following the incident, and wants action be taken against Perhilitan for the killing of the langurs.
“If Perhilitan received a complaint from the teachers’ quarters, they should have gone there and addressed the issue, not come here and kill the langurs.” – The Vibes, May 23, 2021
