Endangered dusky langurs have successfully begun using a new artificial canopy bridge in a major tourism hub on Malaysia’s Penang Island. Camera traps set up by the Langur Project Penang (LPP) confirmed that the first dusky langur (Trachypithecus obscurus) crossed the bridge made out of old fire hoses on June 1, about two months after it was installed on April 8, 2026. Known as “The Obscura,” the bridge was installed in Batu Ferringhi, a beach resort town in the northern part of Penang Island. LPP founder Yap Jo Leen previously told Mongabay that the bridge provides a safe path for urban wildlife, such as langurs and macaques, to cross busy roads without risking death by vehicles or electric wires. LPP, a citizen science-driven conservation initiative, works to mitigate the habitat fragmentation caused by Malaysia’s rapid urban development. Mongabay previously reported that Malaysia has lost more than half its forest cover since 1900 as its human population has climbed. What forest remains is increasingly divided by roads and residential infrastructure, isolating populations of wild animals in residential areas away from their natural habitats. Yap documented eight langurs killed by vehicles during her research in Penang between 2016 and 2018. Since then, LPP has installed three bridges made of fire hoses, The Obscura being the latest, to help the langurs cross roads. The first bridge, Ah Lai’s Crossing, was installed in 2019 to help a group of langurs navigate a busy coastal road to find food. While a long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis)…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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