NEW HOPE FOR DELACOUR’S LANGUR IN HUONG SON

Delacour’s langur (Trachypithecus delacouri) is found nowhere else in the world but Viet Nam. Today, its remaining wild populations are restricted to only a few limestone landscapes in northern Viet Nam, including Huong Son Special-use Forest in Ha Noi city, Kim Bang Protection Forest and Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve in Ninh Binh province.

Delacour’s langur is among the world’s most threatened primates. The species is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) in both the Vietnam Red Data Book (2024) and the IUCN Red List (2026).

In December 2022, Center for Nature Conservation and Development (CCD) announced the evidence of a surviving Delacour’s langur population in Huong Son Special-use forest. Since then, CCD and its partners have recorded at least two additional groups, bringing the observed population to approximately 16 individuals.

Encouragingly, several infants have been born in the wild—in February 2024, November 2024, March 2025 and March 2026. These births spark hope that the population is gradually recovering if its habitat remains protected.

CCD’s conservation work in Huong Son combines scientific and technology-based monitoring with community outreach on wildlife ecology and relevant regulations. At the heart of these efforts is a community-based monitoring programme, which actively involves local people in protecting the langurs and their limestone forest habitat.

For nearly three years, community patrol teams have carried out monthly surveys to document the langurs’ distribution, behaviour and activities. Their observations provide essential information for developing long-term conservation and population recovery plans for this unique Vietnamese primate.

Take a closer look at Delacour’s langurs in Huong Son forest through the video shared below by Agriculture and Environment Newspaper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJmcceK2nlI