JOHOR BAHRU – Johor may be home to significantly more Raffles’ banded langurs than previously estimated, offering fresh hope for the survival of one of the world’s rarest primates.

Field explorations conducted in May by Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) and the Johor Forestry Depart­ment at the Lenggor-Mersing Cen­tral Forest Spine uncovered a ­previously unknown population comprising between 40 and 50 langurs, Associate Professor Muhammad Abdul Latiff Abu Bakar said.

“Based on the expanded distribution that we have documented and with new groups still being discovered, I believe the actual population could reach between 600 and 700 primates in Johor alone once comprehensive surveys are carried out,” he said.

The Raffles’ banded langur was classified as “critically endanger­ed” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2022.

According to the New England Primate Conservancy website, there are about 300 Raffles’ banded langurs in Malaysia as at 2021 and 68 in Singapore.

Muhammad Abdul Latiff, who is UTHM’s Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology deputy dean (Research, Development and Publication), said the critically endangered species is likely far more widespread across Johor than previously believed.

He cited a 2024 study published in the American Journal of Prima­tology which found the species inhabiting a much larger range than previously recorded, exten­ding beyond Johor into neighbou­ring Pahang.

Despite the encouraging findings, Muhammad Abdul Latiff warned that the species remains under severe threat from habitat loss, forest fragmentation, hunting and increasing human-wildlife conflict.

He said decades of forest clearing for agriculture and development have significantly reduced the langur’s natural habitat, leaving many groups isolated in small patches of forest separated by roads, plantations and urban areas.

Such isolation increases the risk of inbreeding, weakens...