Wildlife
Golden langur
Golden langurs have long been considered sacred by Himalayan peoples. However, they only came to the attention of scientists as a distinct species in the 1950s so little is known about their behaviour. Named after their gorgeously coloured coats, golden langurs spend most of the day in the forest tree tops, rarely descending to the ground. These secretive leaf-eating monkeys are one of India's most endangered primates. They are also found in the foothills of Bhutan's Black Mountains.
Scientific name: Trachypithecus geei
Rank: Species
Common names:
- Gee's golden langur,
- Golden leaf monkey
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Rare monkey
Land of the Tiger
Golden langurs live only in an isolated valley in the foothills of Bhutan.
Golden langurs live only in an isolated valley in the foothills of Bhutan.
Striking gold
Lost Land of the Tiger
Steve Backshall finds a group of rare golden langur monkeys in the Himalayan foothills.
Steve Backshall finds a group of rare golden langur monkeys in the Himalayan foothills.
Distribution
The Golden langur can be found in a number of locations including: Asia, Himalayas, Indian subcontinent. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
Habitats
The following habitats are found across the Golden langur distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Tropical coniferous forest
Tropical dry forest
Tropical grassland
RainforestBehaviours
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Tree dweller
Adapted to climbing
Co-operative breeding
Acoustic communication
Herbivorous
Maternal care
Pollinator
Active at birth
Social
Seed dispersal
Chemical communication
Visual communication
ViviparousAdditional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Conservation Status
Endangered
- EX - Extinct
- EW
- CR - Threatened
- EN - Threatened
- VU - Threatened
- NT
- LC - Least concern
Population trend: Decreasing
Year assessed: 2008
Classified by: IUCN 3.1
About
Gee's golden langur (Trachypithecus geei), or simply the golden langur, is an Old World monkey found in a small region of western Assam, India and in the neighboring foothills of the Black Mountains of Bhutan. It is one of the most endangered primate species of India. Long considered sacred by many Himalayan people, the Golden Langur was first brought to the attention of science by the naturalist E. P. Gee in the 1950s. In a part of Bhutan, it has hybridised with the Capped Langur T. pileatus.
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Classification
- Life
- Animals
- Vertebrates
- Mammals
- Primates
- Old world monkeys
- Lutungs
- Golden langur
Elsewhere on the web
- Animal Diversity Web (animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu)
- Golden langur photo gallery (photo.lacina.net)
- Langur conservation in Bhutan (wwf.panda.org)
- ARKive: Images of Life on Earth (arkive.org)
- Ecology and conservation of the golden langur (PDF) (primate-sg.org)
- Golden langur fact sheet (theprimata.com)
- Gee's Golden Langur (wikipedia.org)
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BBC links
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