An adult male Golden langur (Trachypithecus geei) died of electrocution in Shibbari at Abhaypuri under Bongaigaon district.
For a long time, locals have been requesting government authorities to arrange plastic covered electric cables near the habitat areas of the Golden langur.
Probably, the langur was looking for food beyond the reserve forests, where most of the time langurs come outside from the protected areas.
Environmentalist Mahidhar Ray said that this poses a “high risk” to langur’s habitat. Agricultural expansion, resource extraction, electrocution, and road kills have a big impact on the habitat of the species.
Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) can install insulated electric cables and fencing around power transformers and reduce the electrocution rates of the primates in these particular areas of Kakoijana and Abhyapuri under Bongaigaon district, say residents.
The Golden langur is endemic to Assam and neighboring Bhutan. It is fully protected as a Schedule I species under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
Despite its endangered status, there is no comprehensive conservation plan for the Golden langurs across their entire habitat, particularly in Kakoijana and Abhyapuri where Golden langur deaths have been increasingly documented.
