China’s wild south-west
The gaze of a golden snub-nosed monkey is strikingly human – yet it was long hunted for meat, fur and traditional medicines. Today, perhaps 15,000 individuals survive in montane forests of Sichuan, southern Shaanxi and Hubei provinces.
This Endangered species is now strictly protected and, with hunting of wild animals banned in China, faces a brighter future.
As well as the characteristic bluish face and golden fur, this individual sports curious growths at the corners of his mouth, telltale features of a male; his long, sharp canine teeth are thankfully not bared.
The Gaoligongshan
