Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report - IUCN

m in limestone karst. Status Information: See below. Field
records come from many survey areas (Table 12). The superficial
visual similarity of this species to M. mulatta complicates
field identification, especially in southern Lao PDR
where intergrades of Rhesus and Long-tailed Macaque may
have medium-length tails but reduced or absent rusty tones
on the hindquarters (Fooden 1996, 1997). Thus, recent Lao
records of Assamese Macaque are being reassessed and the
information in Table 12 supersedes that in internal reports.
Records from Dong Hua Sao NBCA (Duckworth et al. 1994,
subsequently re-affirmed by RJTim) are the most southerly
in Lao PDR. Although identities of specimens from the south
(Ban Thateng, Bolaven Plateau) were validated by Fooden
(1982), they came from markets and there is no information
on their place of capture.
• Macaca mulatta Rhesus Macaque (= Rhesus Monkey).
Conservation Significance: Globally Near-Threatened; Potentially
At Risk in Lao PDR; CITES Appendix II. Documented
Range and Habitat: North M9 , centre M10 , south
(Timmins and Bleisch 1995). Evergreen forest and directly
adjacent cultivation, particularly beside watercourses. Most
records come from below 600 m, although the species was
observed at 850 m in Nam Et NBCA. Status Information:
See below. Field records from many survey areas, south from
the far north to the Bolaven Plateau (Table 12). Taxonomic
issues: This species’s range abuts that of M. fascicularis in
south Lao PDR. An animal basically intermediate between
the two is known from a 1932 collection of trade animals
from Ban Thateng, Bolaven Plateau. The zone of overlap
seems to run south-east across southern Lao PDR, from about
latitude 16º40’N at the western national boundary (Fooden
1997). Hybrids may thus occur over a large area, but most
animals are identifiable as either M. fascicularis or M.
mulatta; there does not appear to be a true intergrade zone.
However, Rhesus Macaques observed in Xe Bang-Nouan
NBCA and the Xe Namnoy basin were noticeably less
rufous on the hindquarters than were those to the north (Evans
et al. in prep. b).
• Macaca fascicularis Long-tailed Macaque (= Crabeating
Macaque M2, M4, M5, M7 ). Conservation Significance:
Globally Near-Threatened; Potentially At Risk in Lao PDR;
CITES Appendix II. Documented Range and Habitat:
South M8 . Various degraded forest types and riverine forest,
including that through dry dipterocarp forest. Status Information:
See below. Still relatively common locally in Xe Pian
NBCA, with a few records from other sites (Table 12), it is
probably widespread in forested areas of the Xe Kong and
lower Mekong drainages. A report from Dong Phou Vieng
NBCA (Steinmetz 1998a) has been withdrawn (RS). While
its small range places Long-tailed Macaque at some national
risk, its use of degraded areas under at least moderate hunting
levels suggests that the species is not imminently threat-
Large Mammals
ened. Taxonomic issues: See note under M. mulatta. (Plate
13)
• Macaca arctoides (= M. speciosa M1 ) Bear Macaque (=
Stumptail Macaque M7 ; = Stump-tailed Macaque M1, M2 ). Conservation
Significance: Globally Threatened - Vulnerable;
Potentially At Risk in Lao PDR; CITES Appendix II. Documented
Range and Habitat: North M15 , centre M13 , south
(Timmins and Vongkhamheng 1996a). Evergreen forests and
adjacent degraded areas up to at least 1650 m; no records
from extreme lowlands. Status Information: See below.
Recent records come from a wide distribution of sites (Table
12) but the species was common at few (locally in Nakai-
Nam Theun and Hin Namno NBCAs) and it has not yet been
confirmed at several areas within its presumed range. It usually
lives in large bands and under current hunting pressures
social stability may be difficult. As a more terrestrial species,
it is more affected by snaring than are other macaques.
It is disproportionately frequent in captivity compared with
the number of field sightings. The significance of this to the
species’s conservation needs is not yet clear.
• Semnopithecus francoisi (= Trachypithecus francoisi M6, M7 ;
= Presbytis francoisi M4 ) Francois’s Langur (= Francois’s
Leaf Monkey M5, M7 ; = Francois’s Monkey M4 ). Conservation
Significance: Globally Threatened - Vulnerable as T. francoisi
(includes hatinhensis), and Data Deficient (Global) as T.
laotum; Potentially At Risk in Lao PDR; CITES Appendix
II. Endemic to small parts of Lao PDR, northern Vietnam
and southern China; occurs only east of the Mekong
(Brandon-Jones 1995). Documented Range and Habitat:
North M15 , centre M15 . Forest associated with major rock outcrops,
particularly limestone but sometimes non-calcareous
formations. Status Information: See below. S. f. laotum is
known only from central and, marginally, north Lao PDR,
specifically Khammouan Limestone and Nam Kading
NBCAs and their environs. There are recent records from
both NBCAs (Thomas 1921, Deuve 1972, Evans et al. in
prep. b). This form has not been recorded in Vietnam (contra
IUCN 1996). A black-headed form occurs in the southern
extremity of Khammouan Limestone NBCA (M. F. Robinson
in litt. 1999). During a 1998 survey, when the species was
adjudged to be abundant, all identifiable sightings were of
typical S. f. laotum (Steinmetz 1998b). In Hin Namno NBCA,
some individuals showed features of the head pelage tending
towards S. f. hatinhensis (known from adjacent Vietnam;
Brandon-Jones 1995), but most appeared black-headed
(Timmins and Khounboline 1996, Walston in prep.). A troop
of at least 15 S. f. hatinhensis was seen at a small nonlimestone
cliff at 1150 m in the Phou Vang area of Nakai-
Nam Theun NBCA in December 1998 (Robichaud 1999).
Francois’s Langurs (form not stated) were observed in one
area of Phou Xang He NBCA in 1998 (Boonratana 1998b)
and a sleeping cave with signs of recent usage was found in
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