One of those animals that looks almost unreal, as if someone painted it for a storybook. Adults are wrapped in fur that ranges from pale cream to deep golden orange, sometimes even a rich rusty shade, and their dark faces are framed by a soft halo of paler hair. In cooler months, their coats tend to look fuller and darker, while in the hot season, they can appear lighter and more washed with cream, as though they change outfits with the weather. Their long, expressive tails can be even longer than their bodies and flow behind them like a banner when they leap. Up close, their faces are surprisingly striking: deep, dark eyes set in a black mask, with visible eye whites that give their gaze a very “human” feel.

These langurs live in a very small corner of the world, tucked into parts of western Assam in India and the neighbouring foothills and valleys of Bhutan. Their home is made up of riverine forests, evergreen and semi-evergreen hillsides, and the tall trees that line village edges and sacred groves. They are almost entirely arboreal, spending most of their lives in the upper and middle canopy. Their long limbs and long tail help them balance as they cross from tree to tree, often using thin branches that would snap under heavier animals.

At dawn and in the cool parts of the day, family groups move along feeding routes, stopping at favorite trees. Their diet is a mixed “forest salad”: young leaves, leaf buds, fruits, seeds and flowers, with seasonal treats like figs and other soft, pulpy fruits. In the rainy season, they have a charming habit of drinking water collected on leaves, licking dew and raindrops rather than climbing down in search of pools.

Distribution

Country

Population est.

Status

Year

Comments

Bhutan

2015

India

2015

Assam