Forest protection officers in Binh Dinh Province on Sunday handed over two endangered monkeys found at a local residence last week to Cuc Phuong National Park.

The two grey-shanked douc langurs – a mother and her child – were found at the house of Pham Van Hung in Quy Nhon City last Friday.

Hung said he bought the two langurs from residents in a rural district who were going to slaughter the monkeys to make “bone paste,” a traditional medicine believed to have health benefits.

Hung nursed the two monkeys back to health.

The monkeys are now at the Primate Rescue Center in Cuc Phuong National Park.

The gray-shanked douc (Pygathrix cinerea) is native to the central provinces of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh, and the Central Highlands provinces of Kon Tum and Gia Lai.

It is listed in Vietnam’s Red Book of threatened and endangered species.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Primate Specialist Group rates the grey-shanked douc as one of the world’s 25 most endangered monkeys.

The douc is usually hunted for bush meat and to make traditional medicines.