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KUCHING: A new habitat of the critically endangered tricolour langur (Presbytis chrysomelas cruciger) has been discovered at Sungai Selai Inah in Jemoreng, Sarawak, says Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.
The Deputy Premier said the primate was sighted during a scientific expedition in the area.
"The discovery was published on March 27 in Check List, an international journal of biodiversity data.
"This species was previously only found in Maludam National Park," he told the Sarawak Legislative Assembly during his winding-up speech on Wednesday (May 15).
Awang Tengah said the tricolour langur was a protected species under the Sarawak Wildlife Protection Ordinance and categorised as critically endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
He said the Sarawak Forest Department was in the process of gazetting the new habitat as the Sungai Selai Inah protected forest, covering an area of about 845 hectares.
According to the journal report, eight groups of the tricolour langur were recorded in three fieldwork studies conducted in the Jemoreng peat swamp forest in late 2022 and Feb-March and August last year.
The report said seven groups consisted of three to seven individuals, including infants, while one large group was recorded to have more than 30 individuals.
Meanwhile, Awang Tengah said the Sarawak government gazetted the Bajoh-Ujong Murod protected forest this year with an area of 13,125 hectares.
He said this brought the total area of permanent forest estates in Sarawak to 3.96 million hectares.
Awang Tengah also said a scientific expedition was carried out at the Sebangkoi Nature Park from Feb 19 to March 2 this year.
He said the study covered various aspects, including fungi, bats, birds and an inventory of forest resources.
"The results of the expedition will be used to prepare a proposal for gazetting the Sebangkoi Nature Park as an amenity forest for research, education and recreation," he said.
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