German Ph.D holder Jörg Adler, director of the Allwetterzoo Münster Zoo in Germany, has been dedicated to several langur conservation projects in Vietnam since he was young.

Germany’s ZDF Television recently screened the documentary “Die Affenfänger von Cat Ba” (The Langurs hunters in Cat Ba), which featured Dr. Adler and the golden-headed langurs he helped rescue.

In 1986, Dr. Jörg Adler arrived in Vietnam for the first time together with some animals from the Leipzig Zoo in Germany.

He recalled that during the trip, a lion escaped from its cage. While everyone panicked, he took a piece of drugged raw meat and thrown it toward the lion. After eating the meat, the lion gradually lost consciousness and Adler could catch him with ease.

During his trips to Vietnam, Dr. Adler would hand gifts from home to the zoo staff and visitors, his friends,  especially the children in kindergartens. He also taught to staff members from the zoos in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

In Nov 1990, he was posted to the Cuc Phuong National Park in northern Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa provinces. The park is the country’s first national park and is one of the key sanctuaries, which is home to diverse fauna and flora as well as many species of animals which are on the brink of extinction.

With the help of the Frankfurt Zoological Society, Adler launched a langur conservation project and founded a rescue center there. He and his colleagues soon discovered three more “voc cha va” (shanked langurs) at the park.

One year later, his wife, Gurdrun Alder, was shot by poachers in the park and the bullet grazed her temple. Though her injury was not life-threatening, it took several days for her to restore her hearing.

Adler remained undaunted by the incident. He even persuaded his fellow man, Tilo Nadler, to work at the park. Nadler is currently director of the Endangered Primate Rescue Center at the Cuc Phuong National Park in Ninh Binh province.

Dr. Adler was awarded in 2009 with a “Medal for peace and friendship between peoples” by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations. He will return to Vietnam to check on the langur conservation project in Cat Ba this November.

Though far away from Vietnam, Dr. Adler remains concerned about and keeps a constant, close watch on the langur conservation projects like those in Cat Ba.

Langurs and their relatives have been killed indiscriminately by poachers in Vietnam over recent years. Some inhumanely slaughtered the poor animals, taped the killings and posted the video clips on their Facebook, which sparked widespread public outcry, particularly from animal activists.