A baby of black snub-nosed monkey (also known as the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey) was born in Xianggu valley in Yunnan Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve on February 19, 2021, which brings the total number of the monkey group “brother nine” to eight. 

A wild black snub-nosed monkey came to Xianggu valley in September, 2018 and formed a family here later. Rangers of this reserve named it “brother nine” and used its name to distinguish its family from other monkey families. This new baby is the third child of this family. 

At present, with a total number of 60 monkeys, there are 10 groups of black snub-nosed monkey that are visible to visitors in Xianggu valley, showing a steady increase. 

To ensure the natural living condition of black snub-nosed monkeys, rangers of this reserve will not intervene in the growth of baby monkeys, but will provide supplementary food such as Chinese Usnea, dried apple, pumpkin seed, peanut and lacquer seed according to the situation to help the newborn strengthen their physical fitness. 

The black snub-nosed monkey is a medium-sized primate species named for its black fur and a distinctive upturned nose, which results from a lack of nasal bones. It lives almost exclusively in the Yunling mountain region of Southwestern China, and is listed as endangered by the International Union of Conservation Scientists. Due to poaching and habitat loss, it is the most endangered of the three known snub-nosed monkey species. 

On July 15th, 2019, Yunnan snub-nosed monkey protection network was set up in Shangri-La City, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and after years of joint efforts, the number of black snub-nosed monkey in Yunnan has increased to about 3,000. 

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(Editors: Alison, Christine)