Old Fire Hoses Become Lifelines for Penang Island's Endangered Langurs
On Malaysia's Penang Island, conservationist Yap Jo Leen is turning old fire hoses into lifesaving bridges that help endangered monkeys cross busy roads in residential areas. The idea took root after she witnessed a female dusky langur and her infant get struck by a vehicle in 2016, Yap told Mongabay's Phil Jacobson and AFP's Isabelle Leong in a joint interview. Dusky langurs (Trachypithecus obscurus) are small primates with dark gray to blackish fur, distinct large white patches around their eyes, and white fur around their mouth. The species is considered endangered on the IUCN Red List, according to the latest assessment, done in 2015. Yap said that in 2016, as a postgraduate student, she started following a family of dusky langurs that included an individual she called Ah Lai. Over the next year, she recorded several instances of the langurs trying to cross a busy road. People living in the residential areas also reported that dusky langurs and macaques frequently made road crossings. Since 2019, Yap's organization, the Langur Project Penang (LPP), has installed three artificial canopy bridges to help the langurs cross roads safely. The bridges are all made from repurposed fire hoses donated by local fire departments. The initiative has seen remarkable success, said Yap. The first bridge they installed, known as "Ah Lai's Crossing," has been credited with zero langur roadkill deaths on that stretch of road. Beyond langurs, the bridge is also used by nine other wildlife species, including macaques, squirrels, and slow lorises. Yap said LPP operates on three core pillars: scientific conservation, environmental education, and citizen science. She said understanding the dusky langurs is a key part of her work and a bridge to understanding ourselves. "I always believe that the primates, humans and monkeys, we all share a similarity, which is connection," she said. To gather data on the primates, LPP relies on a long-term team of volunteers known as "Duskies," aged 17 to 65. These trained citizen scientists track langur movements, help identify the plants they see the primates eating, and engage with local residents to mitigate human-wildlife conflict. Yap said residents also help by remotely sharing data on monkey sightings in towns, cities, and recreational forests. For Yap, conservation should be accessible to everyone. "Primate observation is more than just scientists' work - it can be everyone's hobby, like bird-watching," she said. Ultimately, Yap said, the project's success isn't measured solely by the number of bridges built, but by fostering a culture of community stewardship. By reframing "conservation as conversation," LPP aims to inspire Malaysians to coexist respectfully with the urban wildlife in their own backyards.
