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One of the only three non-human primates to be found locally in Singapore, the critically endangered Raffles’ Banded Langur was once nearly driven to extinction due to the loss, fragmentation and degradation of habitat resulting from urban development in Singapore and agricultural conversion in Malaysia. The distribution of the Raffles’ Banded Langur has been reduced to a number of small, isolated populations across its range.
These population fragments have a heightened risk of loss from the effects of genetic deterioration, extreme weather events, disease outbreak and other catastrophic events.
With only about 300 recorded individuals found only in Singapore and Johor, this species requires immediate conservation attention and close collaboration between the Raffles’ Banded Langur Working Group (RBLWG), which is chaired by Mandai Nature, and stakeholders including authorities, universities, and NGOs in the two countries. Securing a future for the Raffles’ Banded Langur will require targeted action in a number of these areas. However, more needs to be known about their population sizes and composition, distribution, habitat preferences and use, and the degree of population and habitat fragmentation to strengthen conservation action.
Ongoing work to find out about these species include genetic data collection and carrying out population, distribution and ecological studies in Singapore and Malaysia.
Data collection is necessary for the assessment of whether ex-situ conservation measures such as maintaining a captive population and conservation translocation are required for the preservation of the species.
In addition to driving the Species Action Plan, the Raffles’ Banded Langur Working Group conducts regular outreach activities to raise public awareness of the species in Singapore, including participating at local biodiversity events and producing educational materials. They also run the citizen science programme where volunteers can help to survey the population in the wild and collect data on the langurs, such as their behaviour and demographics or threats that might affect their survival.
The Raffles’ Banded Langur Working Group (RBLWG) was established in 2016 to develop the Species Action Plan and implement key conservation work for the Raffles’ Banded Langur.
Led by Mandai Nature Research Scientist, Dr Andie Ang, the Working Group is spearheaded by Mandai Nature and consists of representatives from various organisations and government authorities in Singapore and Malaysia, including the Jane Goodall Institute (Singapore), National Parks Board (NParks), National University of Singapore, Nature Society (Singapore), Malaysian Nature Society Johor, Perhilitan, and universities in Malaysia.
