The Francois Langur or Francois Leaf-monkey is born bright orange in colour which is believed to help with identification before its coat changes to black, with distinctive white cheek markings in maturity. They can be found in small populations in semi-tropical monsoon and moist tropical and sub-tropical rainforests in southern China, and north-eastern Vietnam.
These monkeys are under threat from habitat loss due to local cultivation and wood cutting for firewood as well as mining and other resource extraction. The isolation of populations due to habitat fragmentation also threatens the genetic viability of small populations. In some areas of China, the threat of hunting is extremely severe, due to the illegal production of “black ape wine,” which is made specifically from this species; the animals are even imported illegally from Vietnam for this purpose.
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Photos by KirstyB 