Red-shanked Douc

Douc langurs are found in Southeast Asian countries of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The beautiful red-shanked douc langur is only found in north and central Vietnam and Laos. Its habitat is in the lowland to montane primary and secondary rainforest where it lives in the mid to upper levels of the canopy. The colorful red-shanked douc langur looks like a potbellied little man wearing a gray shirt and black pants. Over the pants it wears deep maroon leg warmers from knees to ankles, and on its arms are elbow length white gloves. Black feet and hands stick out from under the costume. Its face is a beautiful reddish yellow with powder blue eyelids over humorous dark eyes. Framing its face is a long, white ruff of hair. Its tail is white with two white rump patches for the males. Females have similar colors, but are missing the white rump patches. It is sometimes called the "costumed ape". The name douc is an ancient name of Vietnamese origin. Like all langurs, the red-shanked douc langur is a long slender monkey. It is part of the colobine monkey family, but surprisingly is more closely related to proboscis monkeys than langurs. Its overall size is 61-76 cm, with males slightly larger than females. Males weigh approximately 7 kg, and females 5 kg. Their tails are about 56-76 cm long. Mating takes place from August to December. The pregnancy lasts 180 to 190 days resulting in the birth of a single offspring just before fruiting season of some favorite foods. The young are born with their eyes wide open and they cling to their mothers instinctively. Their body color is lighter than those of the adults, with short downy gray hair and a dark stripe down their back. Their faces are black with two light stripes under the eyes. They get their adult colors at about 10 months. Females reach sexual maturity at about 4 years, while the males reach it at 4-5 years. They have a life span of about 25 years.