Wednesday, March 14, 2012

RIP My Fellow Primates

From a distance, I saw a Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis) next to a main road and was peeking on something relatively large and black . I drove past it and I knew it was a carcass for sure. The carcass didn't look like a cat, a dog or even a Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis). I was curious and so I made a U-turn.
An adult Dusky Langur (Trachypithecus obscurus) lying next to Datai Road

I saw this...  :( and I photographed the body at different angles for details.


A huge chunk of its thigh has been ripped off or eaten 
The facial skin was ripped off as well revealing the skull
I am not a primate expert but my guess that this could be a female Dusky Langur
Its chest was opened up, rib caged was ripped off and the missing parts were the heart and lungs. Her eyes were missing too.
This doesn't look like an ordinary road kill. I think. The weirdest part was there was no blood nearby its body and no stench at all. There were no maggots suggested that it was killed less than twenty four hours. 

What killed her? Could it be a huge animal that gnawed its selected parts or organs and then it was dragged next to the road? I don't know. And I don't want to know if this is another case of shooting the Dusky Langurs.

While searching for some clues, I stumbled upon something else which was glowing in front of my eyes. I found this...
Looks like belonged to a Long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis)

This may be a skull once belonged to a Long-tailed macaque. I am not surprise to find carcass of this primate. For they love to play along the roadside and even in the middle of road. Long tailed macaque sits at the top five of the road kills in Langkawi.
I then placed the skull facing the main road so it can keep a look out at the cars passing by everyday. And hopefully, a reminder to the rest of Long-tailed macaques to stay out of the road.

As for the dead Dusky Langur, I dragged it further away from the road, laid it sideways and covered it with leaf litters. Not much of a help, I know, for some carrion-eaters will come by and feast on it. 

Rest in peace my fellow primates.

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