InterContinental Danang builds bridges for the conservation of red-shanked douc langurs

Three new “monkey bridges” completed, which allow native primates to travel around the resort and access their favourite feeding grounds in complete peace and safety, without coming into contact with the ground. InterContinental Danang is committed to the conservation of Vietnam’s red-shanked douc langurs.

InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort, the five-star resort on Vietnam’s Son Tra Peninsula, has reaffirmed its commitment to conservation by installing three brand-new “monkey bridges” – man-made bamboo and rope structures that help the resident population of red-shanked douc langurs travel safely around the resort and access their favourite feeding grounds.

Famed for their striking scarlet legs and white beards, red-shanked douc langurs are one of the rarest primates on Earth – classified as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Only around 2,000 remain in the wild in Vietnam, 1,500 of which are thought to live in the jungles of the Son Tra Peninsula, where they love to eat the young leaves of tropical almond trees. As the guardian of this pristine wilderness, InterContinental Danang is dedicated to the protection of its charming treetop friends.

Five families of red-shanked douc langurs are known to reside within the grounds of this 39-hectare resort, each with between five and 20 members. To help these communities thrive, InterContinental Danang – led by its Environmental Manager, Anthony Barker – is creating a network of bridges and ladders that let these arboreal animals move freely through the forest canopy, their preferred habitat. Three new monkey bridges join the two already in place, providing these colourful creatures with safe, stress-free passages through the forest.

InterContinental Danang’s monkey bridges help the resort’s resident red-shanked douc langur families travel safely around the forest canopy, their preferred habitat. August and September are usually the months when baby red-shanked douc langurs are born, so the new bridges have been completed at a crucial time. More bridges are being planned in future.

“At InterContinental Danang, we understand that we have a responsibility to preserve the precious ecosystems of the Son Tra Peninsula. One of the best ways to help protect the red-shanked douc langurs is to keep their migration routes open. Our monkey bridges act like aerial highways, letting them live, feed and breed in complete peace and safety. The bridges are not only used by red-shanked douc langurs, however; other native species such as macaques, squirrels and even civets have been seen using them, which shows how beneficial they are to our wildlife,” commented Seif Hamdy, General Manager, InterContinental Danang.

CSR is now at the top of the agenda for many businesses, and corporate groups can take part in important conservation projects such as monkey bridge construction – a wonderful way of creating closer bonds between team members and having a positive impact on the planet.

Spanning 39 hectares of pristine forest across four levels – Heaven, Sky, Earth and Sea – InterContinental Danang is a haven of tranquility and was recently named as the best hotel in Vietnam for the second consecutive year in the DestinAsian Readers’ Choice Awards.