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A juvenile Raffles banded langur appeared to be at its wits' end after it somehow landed in a huge concrete drain in Yio Chu Kang.

The drain runs between a residential estate and a patch forest in Lentor.

Raffles banded langurs are critically endangered animals that are only found in Singapore and southern Peninsular Malaysia.

There are only around 70 individuals in Singapore.

Young Raffles banded langur stranded in a huge drain all alone

Alone in an unfamiliar terrain and perhaps tired of trying, the young male langur decided to just sit on one side of the drain and leave it up to fate.

Thankfully, a Good Samaritan who lives nearby noticed the lone langur and came to its rescue.

The 13-year-old girl who spotted the langur tried to throw a rope to help it get out of the drain that was three-metre deep, but the langur ignored the rope, Coconuts reported.

That prompted her to alert non-profit Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) for help.

According to Coconuts, the langur was likely stranded in the drain overnight.

It was spotted with its mother and another young sibling the day before.

Rescue has to be quick

Speaking to Mothership, Acres co-CEO Kalai Vanan said that the wildlife rescue team was alerted on the morning of Jul. 8.

Knowing that the juvenile was with the adult the day before, the team speculated that the parent was likely nearby.

They planned the rescue, taking into consideration the rescuers' safety as they would need to get into the three-metre deep drain and reduce the stress caused to the primate.

The team was worried that the heat would dehydrate the langur so they had to be quick.

They were also afraid that the langur might run away out of fear, which would make the rescue effort harder.

Leaped out and back to the wild

Kalai said that the entire process took around an hour, including the time to set up.

They managed to catch the langur with a net after the rescuers approached it from different sides of the drain.

After checking the langur for injuries, they release the langur back to the forest.

The langur leaped out of the container the moment the door was opened.

It also started calling out for the others, one of the rescuers told Coconuts.

Here's the moment when the langur leaped back into the forest:

Hopefully it has reunited with its troop.

Rare sighting

According to Kalai, this is the first time that the species has been sighted at this area.

"They certainly have ventured out of their usual known range here for some reason," Kalai said.

Speaking to Mothership, primatologist Andie Ang said that the troop of three langurs had likely travelled to the drain to find water.

Ang explained that the recent extreme hot weather could be the trigger to the troop seeking water at the drain as they would usually find water from the plant they eat, tree holes or streams in the forest.

More about Raffles banded langurs

Top image courtesy of Acres