{"id":239,"date":"2014-01-21T09:04:15","date_gmt":"2014-01-21T09:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tibetnature.lhasocialwork.com\/en\/?p=239"},"modified":"2014-02-21T09:11:57","modified_gmt":"2014-02-21T09:11:57","slug":"golden-snub-nosed-monkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/golden-snub-nosed-monkey\/","title":{"rendered":"GOLDEN SNUB-NOSED MONKEY"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pygathrix (or Rhinopithecus) roxellana<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Physical Description<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Golden, or Sichuan, Snub-nosed Monkey is indigenous to Tibet. Like the Giant Panda, very few of these animals exist in the wild. The\u00a0Golden Snub-nosed Monkey has a small upturned snub nose with exposed nostrils, and lappets at the sides of its mouth. The Monkey\u2019s name\u00a0derives from its nose and its beautiful reddish-golden hair. The Golden Snub-nosed Monkey\u2019s face, throat, legs, and underparts are reddishgold.<\/p>\n

\"Snub<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo: www.facetofacemedia.ca<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A portion of the Monkey\u2019s tail and neck are light grey. The remainder of the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey\u2019s neck and tail are golden\u00a0brown. The Monkey\u2019s muzzle is white, and the skin around its eyes is blue.<\/p>\n

The body length of a male Golden Snub-nosed monkey ranges from\u00a057 to 76 centimetres (19 to 25 inches). The Monkey\u2019s tail length ranges from 51 to 72 centimetres (17 to 24 inches). Males generally weigh\u00a0between 15 to 39 kilograms (33 to 86 pounds), while females weigh between 6.5 and 10 kilograms (14 to 22 pounds).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Habitat<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Golden Snub-nosed Monkey occupies mixed bamboo, conifer, and deciduous forests from 1,500 to 3,400 metres (5,000 to 11,000 ft)\u00a0in elevation. The Monkey may descend to lower elevations in the winter.<\/p>\n

The Golden Snub-nosed Monkey is most often found in the same\u00a0places as the Giant Panda. However, the Monkey is better adapted to colder climates and higher altitudes than the Panda, and as a result, the\u00a0Golden Snub-nosed Monkey\u2019s habitat extends far beyond that of the Giant Panda. The Monkey\u2019s population is mainly found on the\u00a0southeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, in China\u2019s Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu, Shaanxi, and Hubei provinces, and in Kham, in the Gyalmo\u00a0Tsawa Rong region, Chugar, and in the dense forest of the Ngawa Dzong (District).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Eating Habits<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Golden Snub-nosed Monkey is an omnivore. The Monkey\u2019s diet varies according to the season. During warm months, the Golden Snubnosed\u00a0Monkey feeds primarily on leaves from broad-leaf trees and fir and pine needles. Buds, bark, and fruit seeds provide supplementary\u00a0nutrition. During the winter, however, the Monkey switches to a more limited diet of bark and lichen. The Golden Snub-nosed Monkey also\u00a0occasionally descends to the ground to feed on grasses and wild onions.<\/p>\n

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Behaviour and Reproduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Golden Snub-nosed Monkey is diurnal (active during the day). Most of the Monkey\u2019s day-to-day activities take place in the trees, but some\u00a0feeding and social interaction, including play, take place on the ground. The Golden Snub-nosed Monkey is highly vocal. The vocalizations of\u00a0males are distinctly different from those of females.<\/p>\n

The Golden Snub-nosed Monkey lives in family units consisting of one mature male and numerous females. The male leads and protects the\u00a0unit, often carrying youngsters. Family units gather to form groups of about 60 to 70 monkeys. In the spring, groups of the Gold Snub-nosed\u00a0Monkey may unite into bands numbering as many as 600 individuals. These large bands disunite and original groups are reformed when cold\u00a0weather sets in.<\/p>\n

Male Golden Snub-nosed monkeys reach sexual maturity at seven years of age. Females reach sexual maturity at four to five years of age. The\u00a0timing of the mating season varies across the Monkey\u2019s habitat range. In general, the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey mates between October and\u00a0December, and gives birth between April and June. The Monkey\u2019s gestation period is about seven months. Each mother gives birth to one, or,\u00a0less commonly, to two offspring, per breeding season. The life span of Golden Snub-nosed monkeys is unknown. The Golden Snub-nosed\u00a0Monkey is a very alert animal; if frightened, it will quickly flee through the upper levels of the forest canopy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Present Status<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Golden Snub-nosed Monkey is categorized as Vulnerable in the 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and is listed under Appendix\u00a0I of CITES. The Monkey is under first class protection in China. In 1991, the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey population was estimated to\u00a0number between 10,000 and 15,000. The Monkey is rarely spotted moving in groups of over 100 anymore.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Threats to Survival<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Golden Snub-nosed Monkey is intensively hunted for its valuable pelt and for other body parts that are used in traditional medicine. The\u00a0Golden Snub-nosed Monkey is also hunted for food. In some cases, entire communities have carried out mass round-ups of the Monkey.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey is a valuable zoo exhibit, and as such there have been reports of poaching of live monkeys for\u00a0sale to zoos. Other threats to the species\u2019 survival include habitat loss due to deforestation and environmental degradation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

BBC, Science & Nature \u2013 Wildfacts \u2013 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey, http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/nature\/wildfacts\/factfiles\/346.shtml, Aug 2004.<\/p>\n

Emanoil, Mary, ed.,1994: Encyclopedia of Endangered Species, Gale Environmental Library, Detroit, Michigan, xvii.<\/p>\n

Eudey, A. & Members of the Primate Specialist Group, 2000: Rhinopithecus roxellana. In: IUCN, 2003: 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened<\/p>\n

Species, http:\/\/www.redlist.org, Aug 2004.<\/p>\n

Kirkpatrick, R.C., 1995: \u201cThe Natural History and Conservation of the snub-nosed monkeys (Genus Rhinopithecus).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Munoz, P., 1999: Pygathrix roxellana, Animal Diversity Web, http:\/\/animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu\/site\/accounts\/information\/<\/p>\n

Pygathrix_roxellana.html, Aug 2004.<\/p>\n

Schaller, R., 1985: \u201cChina\u2019s Golden Treasure,\u201d International Wildlife.<\/p>\n

World Conservation Monitoring Centre, WCMC\/WWF Species Under Threat \u2013 Golden Snub-nosed Monkey, http:\/\/www.wcmc.org.uk\/species\/<\/p>\n

data\/species_sheets\/goldensn.htm, Aug 2004.<\/p>\n

By: Environment and Development Desk, DIIR, CTA.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pygathrix (or Rhinopithecus) roxellana Physical Description The Golden, or Sichuan, Snub-nosed Monkey is indigenous to Tibet. Like the Giant Panda, very few of these animals exist in the wild. The\u00a0Golden Snub-nosed Monkey has a small…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-primates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":241,"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239\/revisions\/241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}