EcoChina | How China's conservation efforts revive the endangered Yunnan golden hair monkey

DEQEN, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The black-and-white snub-nosed monkey, also known as the Yunnan golden hair monkey, is a national first-class protected animal of China. The species is also on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

In 1983, Yunnan Province established the Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve to save the endangered monkeys. After years of efforts, staff members of the reserve have successfully led the monkeys to settle down from original cold highlands to wooded areas at low altitude with better habitat conditions.

In 2019, a network on the protection of the monkeys across the Yunnan Province was established, with staff members of the reserve committing themselves into the conservation in an all-round way. To better learn about traces of the monkeys in the reserve, they have conducted monitoring and tracking on the species. To ensure safety of the monkeys, they have strengthened regular patrol and field rescue efforts. In addition, they have also engaged into the cultivation of relevant plants in response to challenges including weakening resilience of vegetation and food shortages of the monkeys. Apart from staff members in the reserve, researchers from universities and institutions have also played an indispensable role in the protection of the species. Enduring arduous conditions, they have meticulously recorded the daily lives of the monkeys, providing detailed information for the scientific research of the species.

Thanks to the joint efforts of the staff members of the reserve, researchers and social forces, the number of Yunnan golden hair monkeys in the reserve has risen from around 540 in 1985 to around 2,800 at present, accounting for more than 65 percent of the total population of the monkeys in the country.