Guwahati, March 5: The recent discovery of carcasses of mature male Golden langur in non-traditional habitats across Lower Assam has raised serious concerns among conservationists, who warn that the incidents point to a deeper ecological crisis caused by increasing habitat fragmentation.
On March 5, a mature male langur was found dead along the Siljan–Charaikhola stretch in Kokrajhar district. The incident came just days after another similar case was reported on March 2 near Chapar Police Station in Dhubri district. While both deaths initially appeared to be road accidents, experts now believe they are closely linked to biological and social dynamics within langur groups that have been intensified by shrinking forest habitats.
According to Dr Jihosuo Biswas, Senior Scientist at the Primate Research Centre NE India, the deaths are tied to the social hierarchy of the Golden langur (Trachypithecus geei). During the dry season, territorial clashes frequently occur between dominant “alpha” males and younger males that are reaching maturity within the troop.
When these younger males lose such confrontations, they are forced to disperse from their groups. In healthy and continuous forest ecosystems, displaced males typically travel through connected tree canopies to locate new territories or join bachelor groups. However, ongoing deforestation and infrastructure expansion have severely disrupted these canopy corridors.
With forests increasingly fragmented by roads, settlements and development projects, the langurs are often forced to descend to the ground while searching for food or new groups. For an arboreal species adapted to life in the treetops, this exposes them to unfamiliar and dangerous conditions. The lack of connected tree cover pushes them toward highways and human-inhabited areas, where collisions with vehicles frequently prove fatal.
The Golden langur is among the world’s most endangered primates and is found only in parts of western Assam and neighbouring Bhutan. Conservationists warn that the loss of mature males not only reduces population numbers but can also weaken the species’ genetic diversity over time.
Experts caution that unless urgent steps are taken to restore forest corridors and improve habitat connectivity—such as building canopy bridges and strengthening habitat protection policies—similar incidents may continue. The risk remains particularly high during the dry season, when dispersal activity among younger male langurs typically reaches its peak.
