Fire hose bridges save endangered monkeys on Penang Island

On Malaysia’s Penang Island, conservationist Yap Jo Leen is turning old fire hoses into lifesaving bridges for endangered monkeys.

The idea began in 2016 after Yap saw a female dusky langur and her infant hit by a vehicle. As a postgraduate student, she started following a langur family that included one she named Ah Lai. Over the next year she recorded multiple attempts by langurs to cross busy roads, and residents reported frequent crossings by langurs and macaques too.

Since 2019, Yap’s group Langur Project Penang has installed three artificial canopy bridges made from repurposed fire hoses donated by local fire departments. The first bridge, “Ah Lai’s Crossing,” has seen zero langur roadkill deaths on that stretch since it went up. Nine other species now use the bridges, including macaques, squirrels, and slow lorises.

Dusky langurs are small primates with dark gray fur, large white eye patches, and white fur around the mouth. The IUCN lists them as endangered, with the last assessment in 2015.

LPP runs on three pillars: scientific conservation, environmental education, and citizen science. A team of 17-to-65-year-old volunteers called “Duskies” track langur movements, identify plants the primates eat, and talk to residents to reduce human-wildlife conflict. Residents also share monkey sightings from towns and forests.

For Yap, conservation is about connection. “The primates, humans and monkeys, we all share a similarity, which is connection,” she said. She adds that success isn’t just bridges built, but building a culture where locals see conservation as conversation and coexist with urban wildlife.