The habitat of the golden langurs between the Sankosh and Manas rivers was a territory shared by two countries -- India and Bhutan

The death of a golden langur (Trachypithecus geei) on August 7 in the periphery of the Kakoijana Reserve Forest in the Bongaigaon district of Assam, has reignited concerns over the increasing risks to the primate species across the region.

The langur died when it came into contact with a sagging live wire in the Katuripara village near Kakoijana. Although residents had raised alarms over the threats posed by the exposed electric wires, no steps had been taken by the concerned departments to address the issue. Locals have called for immediate insulation of exposed electric wires in the area and reiterated their demand for legal protection of Kakoijana as a Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS). In December 2024, there had been another incident in the area when a golden langur died -- its death caused by electrocution from a transformer. The sight of an infant sitting by its dead mother caused grief and strong protests from the locals.

In 2019, with the help of the Bongaigaon district administration and the forest department, local people launched a project for the protection of the golden langurs and their habitat by extensively planting fruit-bearing saplings in the Kakoijana Reserve Forest area. Despite the proactive role and contribution of the local community to initiatives such as plantation campaigns and erection of artificial canopy bridges, stronger protection measures are necessary to ensure their long-term survival. Rapid urbanization and encroachment on forest lands have severed the natural connectivity to forests and at times force these arboreal species to leave their natural treetop habitats, leading to encounters with dogs and often resulting in electrocution and fatal road accidents.

The golden langur, now counted as one of the world's 25 most endangered primates, was first brought to the notice of the world by E. P. Gee in the 1950s. The British naturalist and anthropologist was an honorary forest officer with the Government of Assam since 1935. After the Government of India co-opted him to a committee constituted to frame a policy for wildlife conservation in India in 1951, Gee took up extensive surveys of rare wildlife through the length and breadth of the country.

It was one of those surveys that rewarded him with the sighting of the golden langur, a rare arboreal species in the sub-Himalayan forests. The habitat of the golden langurs between the Sankosh and Manas rivers was a territory shared by two countries -- India and Bhutan. Gee wrote about his new 'discovery' that now inherits his name -- "And I cannot think of a more engaging and more wonderful wild creature than the "newly-discovered" golden langur, as it feeds, plays and leaps from branch to branch in the tree tops, making the silvery-green leaves quiver against an azure sky."

Gee estimated the total population of golden langurs in that area to be about 550 in the winter of 1959-60. Decades after Gee discovered them in the Indo-Bhutan border area, sightings of these magnificent primates were reported from Chakrasila in Dhubri district and Kakoijana Reserve Forest in the Bongaigaon district of Assam. Nature's Beckon, a conservationist group of the Northeast, used this charismatic species as a flagship animal for the conservation of biodiversity in the Chakrasila Wildlife Sanctuary. However, the process for elevating Kakoijana RF to a wildlife sanctuary remained stagnant since the 1990s.

Habitat degradation, fragmentation and isolation as well as biotic interference had led to the decline of the endemic species across their natural range and brought them to the IUCN's list of world's 25 most endangered primates. Other significant challenges to their survival include electrocution, road accidents, and attacks by domestic dogs.

While these golden-hued simians enjoy the highest legal protection in India, being listed as a Schedule-I species under the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972, the majority of their population are found outside the protected areas making them highly vulnerable. A 2024 survey estimates their number to be around 7,396 in India, spread across fragmented habitats in Assam.

Meanwhile, over the years, much of the green cover of the 17.24 sq km Kakoijana forest disappeared under the axe of the illegal tree fellers, forcing the endangered species to take refuge in isolated parts of the forest tract in the district.

While the demand for legal protection of Kakoijana and its upgrading to a wildlife sanctuary as "Kakoijana-Bamuni Hill Wildlife Sanctuary" has continued, the State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) for Assam (the advisory body to the state government on such issues) in its 16th meeting recommended that instead of a Wildlife Sanctuary, the possibility of notifying Kakoijana as a Conservation Reserve should be explored. Conservationists and locals associated with the Kakoijana movement, however, found this recommendation simply "not aligning with the species-centric conservation model".

"The demand for upgrading of Kakoijana to a wildlife sanctuary has been stalled since the 1990s. It is a justified demand to protect a prime habitat of the endangered primates. The increased risks of habitat fragmentation and isolation of the species cannot be ignored anymore. There is an urgent need for protection and restoration of the specific habitat", said an expert requesting anonymity.

As calls for immediate and extensive habitat protection measures for Kakoijana have been growing, concerns have also been raised over risks to vital habitats of the golden langur under the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR). The Manas National Park, part of the Chakrasila Wildlife Sanctuary and the Ripu and Chirang Reserve Forests are located in BTR and their management responsibilities are shared by the Bodoland Territorial Council.

The Ripu and Chirang Reserve Forests in northwestern Assam -- home to a significant population of the endangered primates -- are crucial for their continuity and link to other prime habitats like the Manas National Park up to the Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan. It is anticipated that the newly constituted government of the Bodoland Territorial Council would take strong measures for the protection of these vital golden langur habitats critical for the species' survival.

Conservation Crisis: The Battle for Assam's Kakoijana's Golden Langur Habitat