Conservationists searching for Vietnam‘s critically endangered Tonkin snub-nosed monkey, one of the world’s most threatened primates, have found no sign of the species in one of the two forest patches where it was thought to remain. This is cause for “great concern,” say conservationists from Fauna & Flora’s Vietnam program in a recent paper in the journal Oryx.
Until recently, the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus avunculus) was known to only inhabit Quan Ba Forest and Khau Ca Species and Habitat Conservation Area, within the larger Du Gia National Park. In Quan Ba, the species was last seen in 2020.
Anecdotal evidence from local communities suggest it may have clung on, but a 32-person survey team that traveled a combined 731 kilometers (454 miles) over five days in April failed to find any signs of the species.
“We did not see the monkeys this year,” says Lam Van Hoang, director of Fauna & Flora’s Vietnam office, which led the survey. That doesn’t mean they’ve gone locally extinct, or extirpated, he says, noting it’s possible that a population of 20 individuals or fewer could remain undetected in the forest. “We need to apply more conservation technology, maybe using thermal drones or more human efforts, in order to have more accurate data of the population.”
Agricultural expansion, widespread deforestation, and hunting for meat and body parts for use in traditional medicine has driven the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey to the brink of extinction. The pressure of cardamom farming in and around Quan Ba Forest is particularly intense. There’s scant data on the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey elsewhere in Vietnam, and the species isn’t part of any captive-breeding program or known to be held in zoos.
Under pressure
The “terrible news” from Quan Ba was somewhat predictable given the intensity of these pressures on the tiny population, says Luu Tuong Bach, Tonkin snub-nosed monkey project manager at Conservation Impact, who was not involved in the recent survey.
“In my opinion, the biggest problem to this subpopulation is habitat loss by unsolvable extended cardamom cultivation, and this problem will affect not only [the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey] but also the wildlife in the area,” Bach says.
Though the Fauna & Flora team still have hope that the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey somehow persists in Quan Ba, it’s possible that the last remaining viable population now resides in Khau Ca. When discovered in 2002, estimates placed the Khau Ca population at around 50 individuals. Since then, that number has grown to more than 200, thanks to greater protection and community initiatives such as community-led monitoring and habitat protection, Hoang says, showing it can bounce back if given an opportunity.
Khau Ca is better protected, Bach says, as it’s designated as a conservation area specifically for the protection of the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey. It doesn’t face the same pressures as Quan Ba, but if the species is to cling on and have a chance of continued recovery, more efforts are needed.
“Without strong conservation attempts, especially from the local authorities, the population in Khau Ca will face high risks from illegal activities and pressure from local communities,” he says.
Hoang says protecting Quan Ba is also vitally important as, if the species persists, it could act as a “backup population.”
Quan Ba Forest is currently classed a watershed protection area, but Fauna & Flora is working with the Vietnamese government to have it designated as a nature reserve and simultaneously expand a wildlife corridor in Khau Ca.
“Keeping the forest habitat and maintaining that small population is very important for the species,” Hoang says, adding they may look to reintroduce monkeys into Quan Ba, if it’s secured, threats are reduced and the existing population still survives. “I think in the future, the government [and] conservation actors like us need to turn to the next step of developing the backup population for the species.”
Citation:
Maheshwari, A., Canh, C. X., Tam, N. Q., Toan, N. V., Thien, H. T., & Ha, V. V. (2024). Decline of the Critically Endangered Tonkin snub-nosed monkey in Quan Ba forest, Vietnam. Oryx, 1-1. doi:10.1017/S0030605324000875
This article by Sean Mowbray was first published by Mongabay.com on 27 December 2024. Lead Image: Tonkin snub-nosed monkey, courtesy of Xi Zhinong/WildChina /Fauna & Flora.
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