Dusky langurs’ once pristine forests are now bisected by busy roads. To move through their territory, they must risk crossing dangerous traffic every day. After witnessing their struggle, Local Researcher Jo Leen Yap decided to build a monkey bridge.
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TRANSCRIPT
- [Narrator] Dusky langurs.
Their once pristine forests are now bisected by busy roads. (cars whooshing) To move through their territory, they must risk crossing, dangerous traffic every day.
Local researcher, Jo Leen Yap, has seen them run this gauntlet many times.
- It's very risky and you feel very heartache 'cause the infants or the juvenile, they will try to cross the roads and you can see that they are really struggling.
- [Narrator] The langurs have found what might appear to be a good solution, but these are power cables.
They pose a real risk of electrocution, and they're too thin for the monkeys to balance safely Many struggle to make it across, especially mothers and babies.
- When the mom and the infant trying to cross along the cable wire, they can't really balance themself well.
We've got cases of roadkill all happen below the cable wire.
- [Narrator] Jo Leen felt she had to act.
- After so many months and years of looking at them, walking along the cable wire, the things in my heart is trying to help them to cross safely.
- [Narrator] Jo Leen knows the monkeys prefer crossing overhead, so she's decided to install a monkey bridge.
- So today's the day.
We are gonna build the first bridge in Peninsular Malaysia to assist langurs to cross the road.
- [Narrator] They are using upcycled old fire hoses, much thicker and easier to cross than electric wires.
And hopefully allowing monkeys and other wildlife to cross between forest fragments, much more safely.
As the bridge nears completion, it seems the monkeys already keen to check out their new walkway.