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The Golden Snub-nosed Monkey


The Orange Monkey

Isn’t that the cutest monkey ever?? I’m in the mountains of China, and the cute, furry creature behind me is the Golden nosed monkey. Also known as the snub-nosed leaf monkey and the orange monkey, this monkey is native to the central and southwest mountains of China, and the Tibetan mountains.

Old World monkeys

These Old World monkeys. What does this mean? This means that the golden snub-nosed monkey has several human-like characteristics, such as nostrils that are close together, fingernails on hands and thick pads of skin around their tails that serve as a cushion when they are sitting. Also, their tails are long but not prehensile like those of New World monkeys, which means they cannot use their tails to grasp objects or hang from tree branches.

Why do Snub-nosed Monkeys have such short noses?

Although super-cute, their noses do seem rather short for a monkey, don’t they? The reason behind this is that the temperature around here is so low that a longer nose is just a nose that’s easily frost-bitten! The cold is also the reason for their thick fur! Another interesting fact about them is that they aren’t born with golden fur. Old is gold is actually true in their case. The baby monkeys are born with gray fur, which progressively turns reddish gold with age.

Living in Groups

These monkeys live in groups of about 10, called units. A unit usually consists of a single male and several females. Units band together for protection from predators and look for food. In fact, sometimes, bands have been known to come together and form troops of hundreds! Kind of like a human society, isn’t it?

Are Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys endangered?

Sadly though, these monkeys are now an endangered species, because of hunting and poaching activities, primarily for meat and the beautiful golden fur, which is rumored to have medicinal properties. Efforts are being made to protect what’s left of their dwindling population though, and one hopes that this beautiful species is saved.