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Wildlife conservation is facing a conflict of interest between the survival of wildlife and tangible benefits for humans, especially for those living in neighborhoods around the wildlife habitat. Sustainable conservation offers a balanced approach between conservation and economic benefits. PrimaTourism (primate-based tourism) is one of the important initiatives in fulfilling conservation efforts and providing income opportunities for the local community. The banded langur, Presbytis femoralis, has received minimal attention about its conservation issues and the potential solution for this is primate-based tourism. This paper aims to study the viability of PrimaTourism in Kota Tinggi Johor using quantitative surveys assessing local acceptance by villagers between August 2017 and August 2018, and on-site exploratory qualitative interviews with local nature tourism operators on ways to improve the tourism quality in the area. The consistent positive views on PrimaTourism by residents of Kampong Johor Lama in 2017 and 2018 based on the surveys showed potential for PrimaTourism development and implementation. In-depth interviews with local nature guides were categorized into five clustered themes: (1) prioritization of conservation, (2) improvement in marketing, (3) improvement in infrastructure, (4) implementing the sustainable use of natural resources, and (5) community involvement with PrimaTourism as a future undertaking toward its better implementation in Kota Tinggi, Johor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnoprimatology can be defined as the interaction between human and nonhuman primates that share integrated social and ecological spaces through cultural, religious, and customary contexts. Orang Asli community is highly dependent on natural resources around them and utilise animals in their daily life, including primates, for many purposes such as food, medicine, and pets. However, indiscriminate hunting practice and overhunting have caused a major decline in the primate population, including the species with high conservation importance, which may lead to extinction. Hence, this study aims to document the information on primate utilisation by Temuan in Gunung Ledang, Johor, Malaysia, using an ethnoprimatological approach through a semistructured interview with the aid of a questionnaire. The results indicate that Temuan in Gunung Ledang mainly used five species of primates (Macaca fascicularis, M. nemestrina, Presbytis sp., Hylobates lar, and Trachypithecus obscurus) that comprised two families, namely, Cercopithecidae and Hylobatidae, as entertainment and pets. However, respondents acknowledged that these cultural practices rapidly eroded because of the decline in the primate population in their ranging area, thus making it harder for them to spot and hunt the primates. Findings from this study can be used for developing a sustainable action plan that involves Orang Asli toward conservation of primates and preservation of traditional knowledge of Temuan in Peninsular Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dusky leaf monkey (Trachypithecus obscurus obscurus), are widely distributed in Peninsular Malaysia. The shortage of studies on phylogeographic structure of T. obscurus, at subspecies and population level, as well as the absence of study for the population in Gunung Ledang National Park, Johor, Malaysia, it may adversely affect their conservation management. This study aims to determine the phylogenetic position of T. obscurus at subspecies and population level, as well as the absence of study for the population in Gunung Ledang National Park, Johor, Malaysia, it may adversely affect their conservation management. This study aims to determine the phylogenetic position of T. obscurus in Gunung Ledang and compare it to those of other Malaysian populations using the D-loop region of mitochondrial DNA. Faecal samples were collected from the wild population in Gunung Ledang and sequenced, and used in phylogenetic analysis with six additional genetic samples of T.obscurus from other regions in Peninsular Malaysia, and one sequence of Presbytis melalophos from GenBank. Both neighbor-joining and maximum parsimony trees indicate that populations from Gunung Ledang should beclassified as T. o. obscurues and are monophyletic with thea populations from Endau-Rompin, Johor, and Selangor. This study provides a new insight and contributes to the conservation management strategies of T. obscurus in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]