Foetal arm prolapse and presumed maternal death in a wild hanuman langur (Presbytis entellus)

During fieldwork in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Central India, in 1980 an adult female hanuman langur (Presbytis entellus) was observed with the forearm of a dead foetus protruding from her vagina without evidence of uterine contractions. It is likely that a transverse lie or oblique malpresentation with consequent foetal arm prolapse occurred during labour with subsequent impaction, uterine inertia, and foetal death. The female disappeared from the troop over the following 18 hr, presumably dying as a consequence of the complications of the malpresentation.