Protection efforts see golden snub-nosed monkeys thrive

Long-term commitment

When the Baihe River National Nature Reserve was established in the 1960s, Tang's great-uncle was one of the first staff members to move there. He spent more than 20 years in the reserve, patrolling the mountains every day, keeping an eye on the monkeys' health, preventing fires and protecting the environment.

Influenced by his family, Tang's father also became a golden monkey expert and worked at the reserve for more than 20 years. Tang is the third generation of his family to work as a forest ranger in the reserve.

He knows every type of plant and tree in the reserve, which has earned him the nickname "the living map".

He said the reserve covers more than 16,000 hectares, while the most recent "census" showed that there were roughly 1,700 golden snub-nosed monkeys living there. They are divided into six communities, each of which is similar to a human village and consists of several families.

Located in Jiuzhaigou county, the reserve overlaps significantly with the Giant Panda National Park, which was established in 2017 as a pilot program.

"There are many nationally protected wild animals in the reserve, such as black bears, antelopes, Tibetan gazelles and giant pandas," Tang said.

"There are also several species of birds under level one State protection, such as Chinese monals and golden eagles."

The golden snub-nosed monkey gets its name from its upturned nose, and is divided into five species: the Sichuan golden monkey; the Yunnan golden monkey; the Guizhou golden monkey; the Nujiang golden monkey; and the Vietnamese golden monkey.

The first three species on the list are unique to China.