Behavior

The Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey are diurnal, which means that they are active during the day. Most of the day, these monkey's activities take place in the trees, but some feeding and social interaction takes place on the ground. Their vocalization are very distinct between the males and females, meaning that the male vocals are different from those of the females. The Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey reside in family units that consist of one male and four females with the males protecting the units, especially the young ones. They can form groups of about 60-70 monkeys and during the springtime, groups form bands of approximately 600 individuals. As winter comes around, these bands will reunite into their own original groups. The male Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys reach sexual maturity at seven years of age while the females reach it at 4-5 years of age. The mating season times varies across the habitual range of the monkey, but generally mate between October and December and give birth between April and June.  The Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey's gestation period is about seven months and each mother gives birth to one or, less commonly, to two offsprings per breeding season.

Diet

The Golden Snub-nosed Monkey lives in harsh conditions that has its diet vary according to the seasons. During the warmer months they eat tree leaves, pine and fir needles, bamboo shoots, buds, fruits, insects, worms, flowers, seeds, small birds, and small bird eggs. Their food diet during winter is limited to lichens and tree bark, though the Golden monkey eats that all year long, too.

IUCN Status

IUCN Status: Endangered

How Did They Become Endangered?
The Golden Snug-Nosed Monkey become endangered by degradation, habitat loss, and harvesting.
Commercial logging is destroying the habitat. The logging used for firewood is reducing the food supplies for them.They are also targeted by many hunters. Hunters hunted the animal for their warm fur.

Efforts to Help 
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) joined with the Chinese government and the Conservation International. They have launched a program in the effort of gaining understanding of the needs of the endangered species. The program's main goal is to provide protection for the endangered species, saving them from extinction.

Introduction

Scientific Name: rhinopithecus roxellana

Common Name: (Blue Faced) Golden Snub-nosed Monkey, Sichuan Golden Snub-nosed Monkey

Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia 
Phylum: Chordata 
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Cercopithecidae 
Genus: Rhinopithecus
Species: R. roxellana 

Physical Characteristics

The body hair of the Golden Monkey is long with the coloration of yellowish-red ranging from brown pigment to brightly orange-red. The upper body, mainly the face, of the monkey is usually the brighter color (orange-red).  The arms, back, crown and tail is the darker color (brown). The nostrils on the flat nose points directly forward, hence the name " Snub- Nosed". The nose is placed upon their hairless blue face. The length of the body varies from fifty-seven centimeters to seventy-six centimeters. The primate has a tail that is roughly the same length as the body or it could be even longer.

Location/Habitat
The Golden Monkey is located only in China. They are the primates from the Qin Mountains. The mountain range is in southern Shaanxi Province, China. The monkey's habitat consists of a forest filled with evergreen conifer. The location of the mountain is often covered with winter snow dropping the temperature. During the winter time period, the temperature ranges from negative four degrees to one degree Celsius. The average rainfall is 180 centimeters.