One of the many effects of the war in Vietnam in the late 1960s was toll the conditions of battle took on wildlife. Native to Vietnam and Laos, the douc langur was losing its habitat and being captured and used as food during the war. Little was known about this beautiful primate species, and there were concerns that the populations could be decimated by the war. A pair of these monkeys was sent to the Frankfurt Zoo in West Germany in 1967, and in 1968, eight came to U.S. zoos, including a male and three females to the San Diego Zoo. Animal care staff and veterinarians then set out to learn as much as possible about the needs of the species, especially their diet, which differed from the majority of primate species the Zoo had cared for previously.