PHNOM PENH, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Two Cambodian suspects have been sent to court after being arrested on suspicion of killing two globally endangered black-shanked Douc Langur inside Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary (KSWS), a conservationist group said on Tuesday.
"While patrolling inside KSWS, we saw three men carrying the dead black-shanked Douc Langurs along a track in the forest. Our team immediately arrested the suspects and filed the complaint to the court," Em Tray, KSWS's Community Patrolling Team leader, said in a statement released by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
Black-shanked Douc Langurs (Pygathrix nigripes) are found only in Cambodia and Vietnam, with the largest known surviving population found in KSWS, according to the WCS.
Sadly, these beautiful animals are hunted for their stomachs due to a mistaken belief that they are medicinally beneficial, the WCS said, adding that they are also killed for meat, and in some areas adults are killed and their babies taken for the pet trade.
They are listed on International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as globally endangered.
Under Cambodia's Protected Area Law, poaching endangered wildlife can result in a prison sentence of up to five years.
"Illegal poaching is still occurring inside the protected area, even though KSWS rangers and community rangers are working hard to patrol the forest," said Tan Setha, WCS' technical advisor to KSWS.
