Two endangered primates rescued in Vietnam

The Endangered Primate Rescue Center (EPRC) has received a yellow-cheeked gibbon and a black shanked douc langur in Vietnam, which were voluntarily handed over by locals on August 18.

According to EPRC's Facebook page, the endangered yellow-cheeked gibbon, aged 4, was found stuck on a snare in the forest three years ago by Pham Thi Tu's family in the remote mountains of Kon Tum Province in the Central Highlands. The family decided to bring it home without knowing how endangered and rare this species was. She lost two fingers after that accident.

Since then, the gibbon has been raised like a member of the family, given human's food like rice, meat, fish or even coffee in the morning. She was showered every few days, lived together with the family under the same roof, and has become very used to walking bipedally like humans.

Tu voluntarily gave the endangered gibbon to the EPRC on the request from the district's forest protection officials.

The black shanked douc langur, just six months old, weighs about 800 grams. A week ago, Doan Duc Loc, a man from Ho Chi Minh City paid VND5 million ($221) for the animal from a local in the southern province of Binh Phuoc.

The two threatened animals have been transported to EPRC in Cuc Phuong National Park in the northern province of Ninh Binh. They have shown signs of being stressed after a 40-hour trip.

It will take time for the center to adjust the eating habits of the two animals after they were fed with unsuitable food by locals, according to Elke Schwierz, an official from EPRC.

EPRC was established in 1993 and is a project of the Frankfurt Zoological Society. Currently it houses a lot of individuals of various species and sub-species, including some found nowhere else in captivity.