August 26, 2025
THIMPHU – Bhutan has unveiled a 10-year conservation strategy to protect the golden langur (Trachypithecus geei), a rare primate revered as sacred in Bhutanese culture but now teetering on the edge of survival.
The Nature Conservation Division’s “Golden Langur Conservation Strategy and Action Plan (2025–2035)” commits Nu 120.8 million to halt the species’ decline through science-driven research, community engagement, and targeted interventions.
The plan aims to tackle threats from electrocution, road kills, habitat fragmentation, hybridisation, and human-wildlife conflict.
The Department of Forests and Park Services (DoFPS) will spearhead the implementation of the plan, working closely with local communities, conservation non-governmental agencies, Bhutan Power Corporation, Bhutan Construction and Transport Authority, and international partners. Monitoring will be led by the Forest Monitoring and Information Division to ensure adaptive management and accountability.
Found only in Bhutan and parts of northeast India, the golden langur inhabits Bhutan’s south-central foothills across six districts: Dagana, Tsirang, Sarpang, Zhemgang, Trongsa, and Wangdue.
Globally listed as Endangered, its population has plummeted by more than 50 percent over the past three decades. Today, Bhutan is home to around 2,500 individuals.
Locally known as a “sacred monkey”, the golden langur carries deep spiritual significance in Bhutanese folklore. The species plays a vital ecological role as a seed disperser and indicator of forest health, while offering economic opportunities for nature-based tourism.
Electrocution from uninsulated power lines has become the leading cause of unnatural deaths, followed closely by road kills along highways such as Gelephu–Sarpang and Dakphel–Zhemgang.
Predation by stray dogs is another growing threat, particularly to young golden langurs, with foresters reporting multiple deaths annually in some localities. Habitat loss and fragmentation due to development projects, invasive species, and forest degradation continue to reduce the species’ viable range.
Retaliatory killings by farmers occur when displaced langurs raid crops, a behavior linked to shrinking natural habitats. Hybridisation with capped langurs further threatens the genetic integrity of the golden langur, especially in areas where riverine barriers are disrupted by floods, landslides, or bridges.
These threats are compounded by challenges such as limited community awareness, lack of inter-agency coordination, knowledge gaps, and scarce financial and technical resources.
Rural communities often live close to forest edges, and while some consider golden langurs harmless, others view them as pests. Awareness of the species’ protected status is low outside protected areas, and limited expertise and funding restrict large-scale interventions, the report states.
The 10-year strategy addresses these threats through four main pillars.
The first focuses on protecting habitats and reducing mortality by insulating power lines, installing canopy crossings, enforcing road speed controls, managing invasive plants, and reforesting degraded habitats with palatable species.
The second pillar aims to expand scientific knowledge through studies on ecology, movement, hybridisation, zoonotic diseases, and human-langur conflict, supported by a centralised monitoring system using mobile applications.
The third pillar promotes coexistence by developing bio-fencing, sterilising stray dogs, piloting animal-repelling devices, and running education campaigns via posters, documentaries, souvenirs, and social media. The fourth emphasises nature-based livelihoods by developing community ecotourism through homestays, visitor centers, watchtowers, and guided trails, creating income incentives for conservation.
The plan sets ambitious benchmarks. By 2030, officials aim to halve deaths from electrocution and road accidents, stabilize populations, and strengthen habitat resilience.
Between 2013 and 2020 alone, more than 100 langurs died from human-related causes, nearly half from electrocution and a quarter from road accidents. Without intervention, conservationists warn, the decline could become irreversible.