'Queen of primates' on Son Tra peninsula

September 08, 2015 | 11:53

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Tourists will have memorable experiences when walking on winding roads and see herds of red-shanked Douc Langur on Son Tra peninsula, about 10 km from Da Nang city.

The Management of Son Tra Peninsula and Tourism Beaches in Da Nang and the Son Tra Forest Protection Division are carrying out a survey to start tours of the peninsula to shoot pictures of gray-shanked douc langurs starting early next month.

The tour will be between 4am and 4 pm when the monkeys often forage for food round Tien Sa Road. The gray-shanked douc langur is one of the world's 25 most endangered primates and also among the most strikingly coloured.

To go on a tour, people have to follow certain rules like wearing sport shoes to reduce noise when walking nearly 2km along Tien Sa Road to look for the animal and having a camera with a telephoto lens to ensure a minimum distance from the animals.

The management board of Son Tra peninsula and beaches for tourism in Da Nang and Son Tra forest protection unit take a survey of professional tour companies before opening langur sightseeing tours. To admire red-shanked Douc Langur, tourists will move by car and then, walk on foot.

Due to Douc Langur living in high trees, about 300 meters from the ground, tourists need to use binoculars. Each tour lasts from 2 to 3 hours. These animals are on the verge of extinction. At Son Tra peninsula, the number of langurs is about 300.

Red-shanked Douc Langur appear in the green forest. To detect them, aside from paying attention to their feather color, tourists are able to hear the sound when they move to other tree.

This is also a suitable tour for those who love photographing. To take beautiful pictures, tourists should bring telephoto lens with focal lengths from 300mm upwards.

Red-shanked Douc Langur has five- color feather. Thanks to unique beauty, these animals are honored as Queen of Primates by International Wild Animal Organization.

According to Management board of Son Tra peninsula and beaches for tourism in Da Nang, this tour is not only for tourism but also to protect these primates.

In many forests, Red-shanked Douc Langur hide in tree branches; hence, it is quite hard to detect them. But about at 4pm, Queen of Primates often appear to find food.

A couple of Langurs were detected because of its white tails. The number of tourists for this tour will be limited, to prevent disturbance to ecosystem. A langur leader howls to sign a strange appearance in their territory. To see langurs, tourists should wear dark shirts and avoid making noise.The langur sightseeing tour will begin in July.