Data for: Habitat use of the white-headed langurs in limestone forest of southwest Guangxi, China

Understanding how animals cope with habitat-specific environmental factors can assist in species conservation management. We studied the habitat use of four groups (two larger groups and two small groups) of white-headed langurs (<em>Trachypithecus leucocephalus</em>) living in the forest of southwest Guangxi, China between September 2016 and February 2017 via instantaneous scan sample. Our results showed that the langurs primarily used hillsides (55.91% ± 6.47%), followed by cliffs (29.70% ± 5.48%), hilltops (7.26% ± 3.55%), flat zones (6.99% ± 6.58%), and farmland (0.14% ± 0.28%). During moving, the langurs moved most frequently on hillsides (49.35% ± 6.97%) and cliffs (35.60% ± 9.17%). The hillsides were more frequently used (66.94% ± 7.86%) during feeding, and the langurs increased the use of hilltops during the rainy season than that during the dry season, whereas the cliffs were more frequently used during the dry season. When resting, the langurs occurred more frequently on hillsides (49.75% ± 8.16%) and cliffs (38.93% ± 8.02%). The larger langur group used cliffs more frequently when moving and resting, whereas the small langur group used hillsides more frequently while resting. When feeding, the langurs in both large and small groups used the flat zones less frequently. Their use of habitat reflected the balancing of foraging needs, thermoregulation, and predator avoidance across group sizes and seasonal variation. We conclude that the ecological factors and human disturbance are determinants of habitat use for white-headed langurs. Our findings provide conservation management strategies for this species, suggesting that the prior conservation efforts should focus on protecting the vegetation the on hillsides and restoring the vegetation on the flat zones.