Despite warnings, two Italian tourists disturbed the endangered primates with high-powered camera flashes at a close distance.
On September 7, Nguyen Van Luc, the pair's tour guide in Da Nang, shared the details of the incident on a Facebook group dedicated to langur photography in the Son Tra Peninsula, Tuoi Tre reports. According to Luc, when the tourists started to use their flashes at a close distance, he noticed that some red-shanked doucs were disturbed.
Instead of continuing to sit at one place to eat, what the langurs often do, they appeared scared and showed clear discomfort; some ran away, while others turned around to resume eating with their backs facing the human group.
Luc then approached the tourist duo and told them to stop using the flashes. However, the tourists refused to listen. After several reminders without success, Luc evicted them from the forest and called his company to cancel his contract with them.
The Facebook post received positive feedback regarding Luc's decision. Many group members, most of which are photographers, recognized the two tourists and shared similar experiences with the pair, while expressing frustration towards their lack of respect and awareness.
The red-shanked douc is part of the highly endangered douc langur family.
[Photo by Dang Thu Thuy via Tuoi Tre]
