There are five gibbon species and at least 11 different species of langur native to Vietnam. Five of Vietnam’s primates are listed amongst the 25 most critically endangered primates in the world.

Gibbons and langurs are still hunted and eaten in some remote areas, but more often they end up being sold as pets or in illegal zoos, outside resorts and hotels.

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Tipped off about an impending inspection, the owner of a restaurant in Hanoi removed this northern white-cheeked gibbon (Hylobates concolor leucogennys) less than an hour before police arrived.

Another gibbon being kept at a resort in Binh Thuan province disappeared shortly after a foreign tourist reported it to the authorities.
Photo by JM

A red-shanked douc langur (Pygathrix nemaeus nemaeus) confiscated by forest rangers in Quang Nam province. This animal, voluntarily turned in by a local resident, was later transferred to the Endangered Primate Rescue Center.
Photo by Tim McCormack

A grizzly sight, a butchered douc langur in Bau Trang, Mui Ne.
Photo by Vu Ngoc Thanh

One of three gibbons being kept at a popular restaurant on Highway 1 in Dong Nai province. The owner has since tentatively agreed to transfer the animals to a rescue center.

The skull of a gibbon hunted in a national park.
Photo by Ben Hayes