They live in mountainous regions of central and southwest China where the temperatures are very cold in the winter. This monkey can withstand extremely cold temperatures, where no other non-human primates can survive.
They live in groups called troops, of 2 types, namely - “single male troops” where there are only one male and many females and their young and an “all-male troop”
A mature male snub-nosed monkey has long hair on its back. This is to impress females. being brave, strong, and big and having a cape makes one the leader of a troop. They have a thick coat of fur which keeps them warm in the winter. They have a blue face!!
Sometimes groups get together in the summer and the group will have around 600 of them. That is why in winter, they break into smaller groups between 20-60 because of the lack of food. This behavior is called “ Fission and Fusion”.
In humans, the nose sticks out so when they are in the cold, the nose, fingers, and toes are the first ones to get frostbite. But these monkeys noses don’t stick out so much and their noses are not fleshy like humans. And their hands have short fingers with a lot of hair of them, this makes it less likely for this monkey to get frostbite. At night, when the temperature drops very low. To stay warm, the monkeys huddle together when they are sleeping to keep each other warm and to keep an eye out for predators.
For food, these monkeys eat lichen. It provides proteins to the monkeys which help them get through the winter. In summer, they eat seeds and fruit.
This is an endangered species primarily due to habitat loss and fragmentation. The monkeys are poached for their fur, meat, and traditional medicine.
Amazing
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