A senior official from the Ministry of Environment said Cambodia’s protected areas have a high population of Germain’s silvered langurs, an indicator of the success of conservation programmes.

Citing a recent wildlife census, ministry spokesman Neth Pheaktra said more than 3,000 of these rare monkeys are present in the Kingdom. Globally, their population has declined by 50 per cent in the past three generations.

“Most of these Germain’s langurs are present in the eastern part of Cambodia, including the Keo Seima, Lumphat and Sre Pok wildlife sanctuaries. They like to live near bodies of water like the Sekong and Sre Pok rivers,” he said.

One of the positive functions of this monkey is that it eats fruit and leaves. Therefore, it is an agent that spreads seeds from one area to another to allow forest plants to grow over a wider range, he added.

The Trachypithecus Germaini, or Germain’s silvered langur, is a blackish-gray colour with a round face surrounded by a mane of pale fur and a long grey tail. Its young are typically a reddish-brown colour, with no hair on their heads.

The species, which lives on a diet of buds, tubers, leaves and flowers, is found in dense forests, coastal mangroves and flooded forests. It is registered as an endangered species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.