Treated like a guest

It is like a visitor to the village, being treated and fed like a guest. But when it along with two companions was visiting the neighbouring ones, they were not welcome. The villagers poisoned two of its friends to death, making it a lone traveller.

The grey langur is now at Krishnapur village of Tanore upazila in Rajshahi.

It is residing at the garden of Khalilur Rahman, a teacher of Krishnapur High School. “It is staying on top of a tamarind tree and eating fruits from the trees. Sometimes I also buy it fruits.”

“I feel bad for its condition as it is limping slightly. But we treat it like a guest,” he added.

Although a welcome guest, the langur, a kind of monkey, now moves cautiously after losing two companions on its way to Duboil village, some 45km north of Rajshahi city, where this correspondent first saw him on November 19.

“It will not eat anything from unknown persons. Even known persons will have to eat a portion of the food in front of it before offering,” said Afzal Hossain, a village shopkeeper.

Afzal said he learnt the langur became lonely after locals killed two of its companions by mixing poison in their food a few weeks ago when the three were at Billi village, some 15km west of Duboil.

The villagers had been hearing about the langur for around a month and a half before it arrived there on November 13.

“I could not believe my eyes when I saw it first,” said Sabuj Rana, a high school student. He said he heard about a strange animal roaming around trees at neighbouring villages of Koyel, Billi, Bokultola and Galla of Tanore after it came from Rohonpur upazila of Chapainawabganj.

These langurs are unusual in the Barind region; the animals might have come from Indian Malda where these are abundant, said Abdul Aziz, an elderly villager. 

With its black face and hands and slender body with a long tail, the langur appeared around 9:00am and sat on the road in front of Afzal's house.

Some people gave it bread, biscuits, and bananas. However, some boys tried to catch it, and it took shelter on a tower. A boy threw brick chips hurting its right leg, the shopkeeper said.

Humans, animals and plants are all important elements of the natural environment, said Abul Kalam, divisional forest officer (wildlife). He also emphasised creating awareness among people on protecting wildlife species.