For the first time since it became law in 2005, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) will have non-human beneficiaries — the rare golden langur in a reserve forest in western Assam’s Bongaigaon district.
About:
Scientific Name: Trachypithecus geei.
Distribution: The geographic range of golden langurs is limited to Assam, India and neighboring Bhutan where they live year-round.
Habitat: Golden langurs occupy moist evergreen and tropical deciduous forests as well as some riverine areas and savannas in Assam and Bhutan.
Colour: Their hair ranges from dark golden to creamy buff and their faces are black and hairless except for a long pale beard. It has been noted that their fur changes colors according to the seasons.
Food Habits: Golden langurs are both folivores and frugivores. Their diets consist of ripe and unripe fruits, young and mature leaves, leaf buds, flower buds, seeds, twigs, and flowers. Although they eat a variety of food, they mostly prefer to eat young leaves.
Conservation Status: In 2003, they were considered endangered by the IUCN Red List, and listed as Appendix I on the CITES website.
Threats: The main reason for low numbers of golden langurs is because of their localized habitat and the rapid loss of this habitat due to deforestation.
Chakrashila sanctuary: Chakrashila is India’s first wildlife sanctuary with golden langur as the primary species. Chakrashila has about 600 golden langurs whose population is scattered across western Assam and the foothills of Bhutan.
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