Endangered Golden Monkeys

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There are three species of the Chinese Golden Monkey,They are Sichuan,Yunnan and GuizhouGolden Monkeys,Yunnan Golden Monkeys live in the depths of Chinese fir forests in the snowcovered mountains of Yunnan -Tibeten arcas,with the population of about one thousand.GuizhouGolden Monkeys are usually found in FanjingshanMountain in Guizhou Province.Its population is justover 700,The most widely known species is SichuanGolden Monkeys that are distributed in Sichuan,Shaanxi,Hubei and Cansu,They live in broadlcafforesis or coniferous and broadieaved foresis 1,400-3,000)meters above sea level,Their habitat is almosl the sameas that of the Giant P’anda.And like Giant Panda,theGolden Monkey is unable to bear scorching heat and cansurvive severe cold.The Ciolden Monkey is a gregariouswt that live in famly groups.wit ttte tisgest hetds ot up to 600 individuals.,Such a large groupcnmeathing of a trarity i Piaes.tte toren ivtewkeys mainty live in trees and they also iseckcwdon the ground.Thei mun too ietestee teves.tcnder branches,flowers,fruits.bark.rootsinseets,birds and bird eggs.

The Golden Monkeys have been on toan display in toreign countries for many times,attractingthe adoration from people of all countries.

The Golden Monkeys are rare and obscure,and they’re just beginning to be studied.Theyare highly endangered,so it’s a race to study them before they disappear.Living in the mountainsof Yunnan,Guizhou and Sichuan Provinces,Chinese Golden Monkeys are seeing their habitatsdisappear rapidily as the countryside is cleared for more pastures,villages and roads.

The monkeys are killed for their beautiful fire-orange fur and also their bones.which arebelieved by Asians to hold special medicinal powers.

In the past 40 years.the living area of the Yunnan Golden Monkeys have shrunk by a third.while the pasture areas created by fire and timber-harvesting have doubled.

More than 86 percent of monkey groups were separated by roads and villages.whichblocked communication and resulted in in-breeding and species degeneration.Small groups inthe forests have been wiped out.Those that are left are too few to carry on the species line andare at the edge of extinction.

Chinese scientists confirmed the existence of Yunnan Golden Monkeys in 1962 and listedthem on the top protection list in 1977.State-run nature reserves were set up later.but illegalhunting continued because the monkey’s brain is considered a delicacy in some local cuisine.