Sichuan Golden Monkey in the depths of Minshan Mountain

Sichuan Golden Monkey / Picture Source: creativity of Picture worms

Xuebaoding is the highest peak of Minshan Mountain system. Sichuan Xuebaoding National Nature Reserve at the foot of the mountain is the best nature reserve with the best natural conditions and superior habitat in Sichuan Province, and it is also the best preserved and most primitive nature reserve.

For many years, Xuebaoding Nature Reserve is famous for its large number of giant pandas. However, as the most important virgin forest, water conservation and water supplement in the upper reaches of the Fujiang River, the area also provides a natural living area for Sichuan golden monkeys, endangered wild animals and other wild animals and plants.

Because the habitat of Sichuan golden monkey mostly overlaps with the protected area of giant panda, thanks to the protection measures of the national treasure giant panda, more Sichuan golden monkey has come into public view.

Appreciation of Golden Monkey

Golden monkey is another name for the species of the genus Monkey of the subfamily Colobus of the primate family.

At present, there are five species of golden monkeys in the world, namely Sichuan golden monkey, Nujiang golden monkey, Yunnan golden monkey, Guizhou golden monkey and Vietnamese golden monkey.

The first image of Sichuan golden monkey

Sichuan snub-nosed monkey is a national first-class key protected wild animal. It is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and listed as an endangered species by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). It is a precious living fossil of relict organisms and a rare and endangered primate endemic to China, and it is also one of the main protected objects in the reserve.

Clear photos of Sichuan golden monkey taken in November 2015

Sichuan snub-nosed monkey is mainly distributed in Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Hubei and other places, the current population is about 25000. Because the geographically isolated species have subspecies differentiation, they can be divided into named subspecies, Qinling subspecies and Hubei subspecies. The named subspecies showed obvious discontinuous distribution in Sichuan, mainly in Minshan and Qionglai mountain systems.

The Sichuan golden monkey is named for its blond hair. It has a large body, a sky-blue face, dark brown crown hair on the top of the head, two ears in the milky yellow hair, reddish brown cheeks and obvious mouth horn tumors in adult males. The chest and abdomen are milky white, the outside of the limbs are brown, darken to the back of the body, and strands of gold wire extend from the dark hair area, especially in males.

There are great differences in appearance among Sichuan golden monkeys of different genders and different ages.

The adult male monkey is large and strong, with long golden yellow back hair and neck needle hair, broad face and obvious mouth horn tumor. The adult female monkey is smaller than the adult male, the face is narrower, the back hair is not as long as the adult male, the neck hair is short, the nipple is obvious, and the mouth horn tumor is small or not obvious.

The juvenile monkey is smaller than the adult, and the coat color is dim (gray or yellow). Because the secondary sexual sign is not obvious, it is difficult to distinguish between male and female in the wild.

The baby monkey is small, the coat color is gray-black after birth, and gradually becomes gray-white. It is not easy to distinguish between the sexes in the wild because they spend most of their time in or around their mother's arms.

Population characteristics

After years of investigation and analysis, Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys are distributed in Huya area, Tucheng area and Sier area, ranging from 1560 to 3685 meters above sea level, with an altitude span of more than 2000 meters.

The lowest and highest elevations of the distribution are unexpected, which is quite different from that of Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys, which is mainly concentrated in the altitude of 2000 ~ 3000 meters.

The lowest altitude of the distribution is only 1560 meters, and the active habitat is evergreen broad-leaved forest, while the highest altitude is 3685 meters, and the active habitat is alpine flow rocky beach.

Why on earth is the altitude span of Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys in Xuebaoding Reserve so large? it is because of the unique natural habitat and magic of Xuebaoding Nature Reserve, or Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys in the reserve have their own unique survival adaptation, which may need further scientific research to explain.

Up to now, the survey found that there are 4 groups of Sichuan golden monkeys in Xuebaoding Nature Reserve, with a total of about 610. Among them, one group is distributed in Tucheng area, the number is 120 ~ 150, there are two groups in Huya area, one group is all-male group, the number is less, only about 10, the other group is mixed group, the number is more, there are 200 ~ 250, there is one group in Sier area, the number is 150 ~ 200.

Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys in Xuebaoding Nature Reserve prefer to move in deciduous broad-leaved shrubs, cold-temperate coniferous forests and deciduous broad-leaved forests at an altitude of 2000 ~ 2800 meters.

The habitat area of Sichuan snub-nosed monkey is 33652.18 hectares, of which the suitable habitat area is 12258.09 hectares, and the sub-suitable habitat area is 21394.09 hectares, accounting for 52.90% of the total area of the reserve, and the degree of habitat fragmentation is low. This provides good living conditions for Sichuan golden monkeys.

Same position

We photographed Sichuan golden monkeys at the junction of Langya area and Sier area of Xuebaoding Nature Reserve at an altitude of 3685 meters above sea level, and also photographed Tibetan snow chicken, red fox, rock sheep and other high-altitude distribution species at the same location. We are very surprised that Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys were photographed in areas that did not originally belong to the habitat of Sichuan golden monkeys.

Same position

Although golden monkey activities are also found in areas below 2000 meters and above 3000 meters above sea level in Xuebaoding Nature Reserve, they are mainly distributed in the range of 2000m to 3000m. Among the many animals in the same region, macaques, Tibetan chieftain monkeys, red-bellied squirrels, hidden striped squirrels and Bo's long-nosed squirrels are the predators of Sichuan golden monkeys. Weasels and leopard cats are their natural enemies, while black bears are not only the competitors of Sichuan golden monkeys, but also their natural enemies.

In daily field investigations, we often find that many species other than Sichuan golden monkeys can be photographed at the same camera site.

Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys eat a variety of foods, but they are mainly plant-based foods. According to the investigation for many years, the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey feeding plants in Xuebaoding Nature Reserve include seven categories: trees, shrubs, vines, herbs, parasites, pineapple and fungi, among which trees and shrubs feed more than other plants.

The picture of Sichuan golden monkey feeding on wild bacteria was captured by infrared camera.

In the infrared camera monitoring work for many years, what is interesting is that the infrared camera records the picture of the Sichuan golden monkey feeding on wild fungi, which once again confirms that the Sichuan golden monkey is a very intelligent broad-eating primate.

The hardships behind the fruitful results

The protection and research of wild animals and plants is a very difficult and challenging task. Compared with the protection of wild giant pandas in the area, the protection of Sichuan golden monkeys is also very difficult.

Field work

Because the reserve is located in Xuebaoding, the main peak of Minshan mountain system, and around Erya Qiang and Sanya Qiang (the highest peak of Xuebaoding Nature Reserve, 5190 met