Cultured "red-lipped" elves will "haha" laugh and play football

Screenshot of the Yunnan Golden Snub-nosed Monkey in the White Horse Snow Mountain Conservation Area xinhuanet

■ Zhao Qian, all-media reporter of City Times

Yesterday afternoon, COP15 "The Story of guarding the "Snow Mountain Spirit" Yunnan Golden Snub-nosed Monkey" invited Long Yongcheng, honorary chairman of the Chinese Primate Society, to share the story between him and the Yunnan Golden Snub-nosed Monkey.

In 1982, Long Yongcheng, a major in zoology in the Department of Biology of Sun Yat-sen University, came to Yunnan, and for the next 40 years, he chose the Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey and accompanied it. He said: "The Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey is a particularly beautiful creature, not only because of its beautiful appearance, but also because I see truth, goodness and beauty in them. ”

The Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey is the most human-like in the animal kingdom

Teeth will also be changed

The first time Long Yongcheng looked at the Group of Yunnan Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys day and night was in the spring of 1989, when he had been holding out in the snowy Laojun Mountain for 30 days. "They're so beautiful." Long Yongcheng regretted that without taking clear photos, he could not tell the world how beautiful the Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey was.

It wasn't until June 4, 1992, that Long Yongcheng finally took a photo of a group of Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkeys. Although the photo is very blurry, this photo of 14 monkeys is the world's first wild photo of a Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey.

"The Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey is the most beautiful animal in the world." The more Long Yongcheng learned about this species, the deeper he loved. "The face of the Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey is the most human-like in the animal kingdom, it opens its mouth, its teeth are highly similar to humans, and they will also change their teeth; it has the same laughing muscles as humans, not only smiling, but also 'haha' laughing." They are social, and their smiles are also a social behavior, just as people use smiles to communicate in social situations. Moreover, the Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey is a cultured monkey, they use stones, branches, etc. as balls to kick, and its partners will guard the 'goal' like a goalkeeper. "Speaking of the Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey, Long Yongcheng's eyes are full of light, in his heart, the Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey is the most dazzling pearl in the crown of the Yunnan animal kingdom, and the primary forest inhabited by the Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey is the best in the green water and green mountains of Yunnan." This area is one of the most ecologically resilient areas, comparable to diamond mountains. ”

This place comparable to Diamond Mountain is the Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve in Diqing Prefecture. It is not only the home of the Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey, but also an important area for biodiversity conservation in China, and one of the 35 biodiversity hotspots in the world. Here, there are currently 14 populations of Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkeys, about 2700. The Xianggu Basket in the reserve, inhabited by a display monkey group composed of more than 60 Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkeys from 10 "families", is currently the only place where people can observe the Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkeys up close.

The number of Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkeys in the Baima Snow Mountain Reserve

From 1500 to 2700

At the scene, Mao Wei, deputy director of the Management and Conservation Bureau of Yunnan Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve, was connected by video. He proudly said: "In 2003, the number of Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkeys was about 1500, and last year the number of comprehensive monitored populations has grown to about 2700, accounting for about 70% of all populations. ”

Mao Wei introduced that in 1998, the Baima Snow Mountain Management and Protection Bureau introduced the international advanced management concept and began to explore the "community co-management and co-construction" protection and development model with the characteristics of Baima Snow Mountain, and correctly handled the relationship between protection and development. Since the implementation of community co-management, the protected area has successfully shifted rescue protection to the track of attaching equal importance to protection and development, and "win-win" between the community and the protected area. The "community co-management and co-construction" model of Baima Snow Mountain has also become an example of sustainable development in China's ecologically fragile areas. In 2018, in the comprehensive assessment of the seven ministries and commissions of the state led by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve was rated as "excellent", and the assessment results ranked first among the 18 national nature reserves in Yunnan Province.

On September 30 this year, the "10 Local Standards for the Protection of Yunnan Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys" was officially released. Bottlenecks such as the rescue and release of Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkeys, population monitoring, breeding and breeding, quarantine testing, and protection of genetic resources are proposed in the form of standards. "We will strengthen cooperation with researchers and NGOs to find better ways to protect the Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkeys in Yunnan." Mao Wei said.

★ Tidbits

The monkey world "Yang Guo" once dominated the side

In the nature reserve, every family of Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkeys, and even every monkey, has a name. Long Yongcheng said that he has accompanied the Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey for decades, and he has many interesting monkey stories to share with you.

"Drive away" a bunch of "happy bachelors"

Long Yongcheng: There are about 2,000 large monkeys in the reserve, and they roam around in the forest, and there are about 100 Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkeys living in the exhibition area. Due to the limited amount of food in the exhibition area, every year, when the big monkey group swims to the exhibition area, we will guide some "families" to return to the big monkey group.

The first to return to the big monkey group were the 14 monkeys of the "Captain" family. Later, we found a large family of twenty-seven or eight monkeys, this family is more special, all are single male monkeys, this "happy bachelor" group, for fertility, did not contribute, but also a lot of food in the display area, so when the big monkey group swam to the display area again, let the big monkey group take them all away. Although several "big families" were sent away, the number of monkeys in the exhibition area remained basically stable.

10 baby monkeys were born in 2016, 8 in 2017, 11 in 2019, and 11 in 2020.

"Spring Light" and "Big Man" shoot down "Yang Guo" from a high altitude

Long Yongcheng: There was once a male monkey named "Broken Hand" in the monkey group, although it had a broken arm, it was infinitely powerful, and it dominated one side with only one left hand, so the local villagers would call it "Yang Guo" (the name of the male protagonist in Jin Yong's novel "Eagle Hero").

Perhaps because "Yang Guo" was too "arrogant", which aroused the desire to win or lose other male monkeys, the "spring light" and "big man" in the monkey group joined forces, and finally shot down the one-armed hero "Yang Guo" from a high altitude, ending its history of domination.

Although "Spring Light" and "Big Man" joined forces to win, but perhaps the victory was not strong, in the end, the two monkeys left the small group, returned to the big monkey group, and wandered in the wider mountain forest.

【Source: City Times】

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author, if there is an error in the source or infringement of your legitimate rights and interests, you can contact us through the mailbox, we will deal with it in a timely manner. Email address: [email protected]