Vain or lonely? — Dusky langur stares at itself in the mirror in Central Catchment Nature Reserve toilet

The sight of a dusky langur in a public toilet staring at its own reflection in the mirror sparked multiple reactions from the person who encountered the wild animal.

A member of the Facebook group Singapore Wildlife Sightings shared his encounter with the derpy-looking monkey, along with the various emotions that came with the sighting.

“This looks cute and funny at first,” said the member, who thought the monkey staring at its reflection was feeling vain.

In the attached video, the monkey didn’t seem fazed at the visitor’s presence and looked calmly around the area before coming close to the mirror behind him.

The monkey got up close and personal with his reflection and began licking the mirror.

“Until the point of realisation that this male is most likely lonely (no female or new members),” the original poster continued, noting there was another male dusky langur loafing around nearby, “but it’s just not the same.”

“Now it’s straight up morbid thinking about these dusky langurs,” added the member.

He had a few more reflective insights from the experience and said, “Moral of the story: Being fit isn’t just about physical health – mental health is extremely crucial too, but doesn’t get enough support.”

This is not the first time the species has been spotted in Singapore. One was spotted on the windshield of a vehicle parked at Upper Pierce Reservoir in March last year.

It is believed that these shy monkeys, which are not native to Singapore, made their way to the country from Malaysia in 2019.

To date, two male dusky langurs have been spotted in various parts of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.

Members of the public who encounter the dusky langurs are advised to keep a safe distance of at least five metres and avoid flash photography as this may scare the animals. /TISG

Dusky langur monkey not native to S’pore spotted at Upper Peirce Reservoir