Article Source: Earth Magazine
Mayanghe National Nature Reserve is located in the northern part of Guizhou Province, yanhe and Wuchuan counties, with a total area of 31,113 hectares. Located in the upper reaches of the Wujiang River, the Wuling Mountains have been elevated to create alpine canyon landforms in the area where the reserve is located. The top of the hill is a gentle slope with rich soil and vegetation, and the gentle slope of the hill has become the residence of local villagers and the cultivated land immediately behind the houses in front of the houses. The middle section of the canyon is a cliff formed by the elevation of the terrain and a cave formed by the collapse of stones, and the bottom of the canyon is a river. On the cliffs here live China's first-class key protected wild animals - Trachipithecus francoisis.
Mayang river monkey colony habitat
In the Mayang River Reserve, the black langur mainly lives in the cliffs and cliffs of the middle part of the canyon like a "sandwich biscuit" between the summit and the canyon river, and often visits the cultivated land behind the front house of the old country house on the top of the mountain, and even climbs to the roof to rest in the sun. In addition to the river, the valley also has large and small stones, and the black langur monkey also frequents. During the dry season, monkeys often use stones to travel between the banks of the river, and then climb along the cliffs to the mountains in search of food;
Black langurs jumping around in the river Photo: Tang Lianzong
When the river rises, the black langur can only crouch on the side of the river, and when the river becomes smaller, it dares to jump along the stone to the opposite bank. Sometimes, the river suddenly swells, part of the monkey group has crossed the river, the other part is blocked by the surging river water to cross the river, and occasionally the monkeys are trapped in the river stones.
Trapped in the middle of the river by a flash flood Photo: Tang Lianzong
The global black langur is only distributed in The southern parts of Guangxi, Guizhou and Chongqing and the northern part of Vietnam, with a global population of less than 2,000. The Mayang River Reserve has about 554 black langurs in 72 groups, which is the world's largest population of black langurs, and was awarded the "Hometown of China's Black Langurs" by the China Wildlife Conservation Association in 2017.
In addition to being a national priority protected wild animal in China, the black langur is also an endangered species identified by the International Union for Nature and Nature Conservation (IUCN) and listed as a protected species in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The origin of the black langur and its co-attributes
The black langur belongs to the genus Umurophyllus, a subfamily colobus monkey of the family Mammalian primates. There are 20 species of primates in this genus, mainly distributed in Southeast Asian countries, while Yunnan, Guizhou, Tibet and Guangxi provinces in China are the distribution areas of the genus pumates of the langur monkey.
According to studies, the ancestors of the genus Udon langur originated in Southeast Asia and spread north along mountains and rivers. Among them, the black langur became the highest-latitude species of the black langur, which reached the Golden Buddha Mountain in Nanchuan County, Chongqing City, and stopped moving. Further research remains to be seen as to whether the climatic environment at higher latitudes prevented the black langur from continuing northward, or whether human deforestation caused the black langur to stop there, or both.
7 species of langurs
Of the 20 species in the genus Udon langur, 7 species have closer kinship and similar morphological structures and living environments, because they all live in the karst stone mountain area, so they are also known as stone mountain langurs. It is possible that the black langur is the oldest species of these 7 rock mountain langurs, so these 7 species are included in the black langur group.
In addition to the black langur, the black langur group also has a unique genus of China, T.leucocephalus, which is endemic to China in Guangxi, and the golden-headed langur (T. poliocephalus), T. delacouri in northern Vietnam, T. hatinhesis in southern Vietnam and Laos, Lao langur in Laos and T.ebenus in Laos. These 7 species of langurs in the black langur group have several characteristics in common:
First, they all live in the karst stone mountain environment, so they are also called stone mountain langurs, all called karst spirits; second, compared to many primates, such as macaques, their numbers are very small, they are critically endangered, and the distribution is very narrow; third, they have many similarities in form, such as all or most of their bodies are black, only the head, shoulders and tails have different degrees of white, golden yellow, and the coat color of the juvenile and adults is very different, and the juvenile coat color is golden yellow and pale yellow, which gradually changes into adult coat color with age Fourth, in terms of ecological habits, good at climbing cliffs and cliffs, you can use the stone caves or platforms on the cliffs to spend the night.
Fei Yan Walking Wall Photography: Tang Lianzong
The black langur, also known as the black ape, is good at climbing on cliffs, so the common people also call it rock spider monkey. Weighing 6-8 kg, they have slender bodies with a body length of 60-70 cm and a tail up to 80 cm long, which helps them maintain balance during cliff climbing and jumping.
The long tail is balanced
Adult black langurs are completely black except for a white hair on the cheeks of the head from the corner of the mouth to the base of the ear. Most of the black hairs on the body are their best concealed color, allowing them to blend in with the surrounding forests and stone walls. The long black hairs can also help them protect their skin as they weave through the woods, and help them absorb heat during the winter sun.
Protective effect of hair
The newborn larvae are golden yellow, and after a month the coat color begins to change, and the golden yellow of the head and tail is slowly replaced by black.
Golden cubs
Unusual family structure and elaborate mechanisms for avoiding inbreeding
The monkey population of the black langur is generally around 5 to 20. The society of monkeys, like most langurs, belongs to a matrilineal society with multiple males and females. The so-called matriarchal society, that is, the core of the monkey group of the black langur monkey is matrilineal. In human terms, it is a core of closely related matrilineal members such as grandmothers, mothers, and daughters, and this core is the fixed part of the monkey group.
One male and multiple females refers to the breeding of monkeys by one adult male monkey and multiple adult female monkeys. The female monkey is the core of the monkey group, and the only male monkey is born in other monkey groups, driving away and replacing the original adult male monkey through fighting, inheriting the previous "wife and concubine". Male monkeys who are new to the monkey group are not directly related to other members of the monkey group.
Female monkey with cubs photography: Tang Lianzong
The popular metaphor is that the adult male monkey is the "temporary population" or "passer-by" of the black langur family, about 4 years, and the adult female monkey and the baby monkey are the "permanent population" of the monkey group.
Adult black langur male monkey
When an adult male monkey first arrives, it will do its best to breed its offspring, because its optimal breeding age and strong enough strength to defend the monkey group are generally 4-5 years. After 4 years, when old and weak, they will be targeted by the male monkeys who are staring at the surrounding tigers, and through physical strength tests and fights, they will eventually be replaced.
Male monkeys in the monkey group, in addition to breeding offspring in large numbers, also need to protect the safety of their "wives and concubines", often playing the role of guard and sentry. In the division of labor among the monkeys, it can be regarded as the most industrious one, suffering first, enjoying later, everything is for the sake of passing on the generations, and the task of the mother monkeys is to raise offspring.
Monkey swarms
In the monkey group, as soon as the baby monkey is born, different genders determine different fates. When the daughter grows up, she stays at home with her mother, aunt, sister, and sister, and continues to maintain the core of the monkey group, while the son will run away from home before he is 4 years old. The young male monkeys of the same age gather together to form a temporary full male group, and each small male monkey is waiting for the opportunity to defeat the male monkeys of the other monkey groups and realize their "life value" instead. All black langurs are usually very gentle and Sven, but when there is a change of male monkeys, the male monkeys will have a "you die and I live" fight, causing physical damage. The defeated male monkeys were expelled from the monkey group, became the only monkeys, and died of old age.
Nature's design is perfect and exquisite, and by the time the daughter grows up and begins to reproduce after 4 to 5 years, the father has been defeated and driven away from the monkey group, thus avoiding inbreeding.
The monkey population of the black langur usually does not exceed 30. Once the monkey group is too large, the management ability of adult male monkeys will decline, and some female monkeys will be "abducted" by the surrounding young male monkeys, and the original monkey group will be divided into two.
Guizhou Mayang River Nature Reserve belongs to the karst canyon landform, and researchers have recorded a total of 120 species of plants being eaten by black langurs, including 94 species of trees, 23 species of vines, and 3 species of herbs. The food composition of the black langur monkey accounts for 43.3% of young leaves, 25.7% of fruits, and 20.6% of mature leaves.
Stealing corn was discovered
Interestingly, the black langurs in other places do not steal the crops and fruits of the common people, and only some of the black langurs in the Mayang River have been found stealing corn from the fields and sweet potatoes in the fields, and they come and go freely.
A herd of monkeys digging sweet potatoes "toiling"
Monkey King Cave Monkey Group and Shiitake Dam Monkey Group
The black langur monkeys of monkey king cave are star monkeys, have seen the "big world", and are the "signature" of the reserve. Whenever there were visitors, the keepers took the guests to the Mayang River Valley, and with a whistle, the monkeys appeared one after another, causing everyone to take pictures. Seeing the mysterious black langur monkey, a wild national key protected wild animal at such a close distance, the visitors were very happy, and in fact, they also subtly accepted a vivid animal protection education course.
In 2018, the Monkey King Cave Monkey Group had 13 individuals, 2 small monkeys over one year old, born around the second half of 2016, 4 sub-adults, and it is particularly incredible that this group of black langur monkeys has two adult male monkeys. This is rare in the family structure of the black langur and his close relative, the white-headed langur, and the male monkeys should be incompatible in order to compete for mating rights, what is the condition of the two male monkeys, and what is the reason? An accurate answer is not yet available.
The monkey herd of shiitake mushroom dam is even more magical, with the ability to lift tiles in the upper room and steal food from the ground. The Shiitake Dam Monkey Group has 12 individuals, far from the Mayang River Valley, but closer to the villagers' houses and cultivated land. Residents' houses and cultivated land became frequented by shiitake mushroom dam monkeys.
Visit the monkey herd near the village
This group of mischievous monkeys is a regular visitor to the hometowns in this area, active in the front and back of the houses of the villagers, in the fields. Sometimes they lie on the roof, do not want to leave for a long time, sometimes play and fight and overturn the tiles of the roof, helpless compatriots are helpless to this group of guys, can only smile bitterly, the only way is to report to the reserve, the reserve authority will also convert cash according to the amount of damage appropriate compensation.
Upper room tile photography: Tang Lianzong
The same group of guys, too close to the farmland of their fellow villagers, look at the crops in the field every day, calculate when the corn in the field will ripen, and eat before the harvest of the fellow villagers. Helpless villagers can only resign themselves.
This group of black langurs has very few cliffs and cliffs in its range of activity, not to mention the cave, no one would have thought that this group of black langurs who were too capable of making things up actually found a stone cave in a bush, the opening was flush with the ground, but the bottom of the cave was a steep rock wall about ten meters down, and there was no superb climbing ability and bold ability to rush into it. For this group of black langurs, this is simply the best and safe place to stay overnight, and it has become the most beloved bedroom of this group of guys.
With the protection and publicity of the reserve, the local people are very friendly to the black langur, everyone knows the preciousness of the black langur and the significance of protecting them, man and nature, man and black langur is becoming more and more harmonious.
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This article was first published in Earth, No. 2, 2021, with abridged revisions