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Vietnamese scholar who discovered population of the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey says he is energized to do more

A University of Colorado Boulder alumnus who found a previously undiscovered population of critically endangered monkeys in Vietnam has won the 2014 Sabin Prize for Excellence in Primate Conservation.

Le Khac Quyet earned his Ph.D. in biological anthropology from CU-Boulder this year, but he has been making a mark in his field for more than a decade.

In 2002, Le discovered a new population of the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey, a critically endangered primate restricted to a small area of northernmost Vietnam. At that time, there were only two confirmed, small populations of the species.

The Sabin Prize for Excellence in Primate Conservation was created by New York philanthropist Andy Sabin and recognizes outstanding contributions in the field of endangered-primate conservation—especially in top-priority habitat countries such as Vietnam.

This prize includes an award of $20,000, which he will receive in a ceremony in January in New York City.

Herbert Covert, professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology, first met Le in 2002 and began working with him two years later.

Shortly after the 2002 discovery, Le joined conservation projects focusing on the Khau Ca population. Covert, who also studies primates in Vietnam, was Le’s Ph.D. adviser. Le defended his dissertation in May 2014.

While in graduate school, Le traveled back to Vietnam each summer and during three of the winter breaks to continue his field work and see his family.

Le had been surveying the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey population for two years before discovering the Khau Ca population. The discovery relied on some detective work, interviewing local people and hunters, some of whom reported having seen the monkey.

Right after the interviews, Le went to the Khau Ca forest himself and found 30 monkeys in January 2002. The next day, he observed 50 to 60, he recalls.

“Those were unforgettable days for me,” Le says.

After the discovery, Flora and Fauna International Vietnam, a nonprofit group, launched community-based patrol groups, worked to improve law enforcement in the Khau Ca forest and raise conservation awareness in local communities.

Le was born in a rural area of the Red River Delta. He recalls growing up amid rice fields and riding on water buffaloes’ backs. When Vietnam residents got television in the 1980s, Le loved wildlife documentaries.

“I was all curious about the forest and its animals that I could not find in a delta region,” Le says. He went to Vietnam National University, where he studied under Vu Ngoc Thanh, one of Vietnam’s pioneer primatologists.

“More and more I realized primates and primate conservation should be my career,” Le says.

Working with Covert in Vietnam opened a door for Le to study at CU-Boulder. While in Boulder, Le also worked closely with the Denver Zoo to help deliver conservation education to primary school students in the three communes surrounding the Khau Ca forest.

Le says winning the Sabin Prize is “Awesome!” The award motivates him to work harder in primate conservation, he says.

“I do hope to have more and more opportunities to contribute my knowledge and work to protect Vietnam’s primates and other wildlife,” he says. “I would also like to share my knowledge and help younger people who love primates and wildlife, too.”

In addition to his work at Khau Ca, he has also been involved in several biodiversity surveys across Vietnam. Covert observes, “Because of his skill as a field researcher, he is much sought after for this sort of work by both Vietnamese institutions and international research groups.”

Clint Talbott is director of communications and external relations manager for the College of Arts and Sciences and editor of the College of Arts and Sciences Magazine.