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Groups > Race for the Rainforest > Discussions > Topic: Two of the world's most endangered (and strangest) primates receive protection
Topic: Two of the world's most endangered (and strangest) primates receive protection

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Fred H.	Two of the world's most endangered (and strangest) primates receive protection October 06, 2009 2:58 PM Rare cao vit gibbons in the new Bangliang Cao Vit Gibbon Nature Reserve. Credit Zhao Chao, FFI. Two of the world's most endangered (and strangest) primates receive protection from new reserves in China and Vietnam Jeremy Hance mongabay.com September 24, 2009 There are 200 Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys left in the world. The cao vit gibbon, however, is even worse off with only 110 individuals remaining, giving it the dubious honor of being the second most endangered primate in the world (the closely-related Hainan gibbon with only 17 individuals is likely number one). Please stay tuned for the next installment..... [ send green star]
Fred H.	October 07, 2009 1:10 PM Both of these species—the cao vit gibbon and Tonkin snub nosed monkey—have received good news recently as new reserves in China and Vietnam have been created in part to aid their survival. In the Khau Ca forest in northern Vietnam a new 2000 hectare nature reserve protects a population of 90 Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys ( Rhinopithecus avunculus), as well as macaques, lorises, and rare plants in the sub-tropical forest. [ send green star]
Fred H.	October 08, 2009 10:24 AM "This new reserve protects the most viable Tonkin snub-nosed monkey population and so represents the species' best chance for survival," said Paul Insua-Cao, Flora and Fauna International’s (FFI) Vietnam Primate Programme Manager. "FFI is proud to have helped to establish the protected area and congratulates the provincial government and local communities on their new nature reserve." The new reserve in China, which borders Vietnam, more than quadruples the amount of protected habitat for the cao vit gibbon ( Nomascus nasutus). Adjacent to the Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Area in Vietnam, the new 6,530 hectare reserve entitled the Bangliang Nature Reserve, now places the entire habitat of the cao vit gibbons under protection. [ send green star]
Fred H.	October 09, 2009 5:56 PM "This increase in the amount of protected cao vit gibbon habitat is a huge success for FFI and for conservation in the region,“ said Luo Yang, FFI’s China Programme Manager. “FFI has been encouraging the local government to establish this new reserve ever since the species was discovered in China in 2006. The cao vit gibbon currently lives mainly on the Vietnamese side of the border but it now has the chance to safely extend its population into China. The future for the species now looks much brighter.” [ send green star]
Fred H.	October 11, 2009 10:13 AM Habitat loss from firewood collection, livestock, and agricultural expansion, has been the main driver behind the decline in both the cao vit gibbon and the Tonkin's snub-nosed monkey. FFI has been working with local communities to improve their livelihoods and ensure the survival of the nearby primates. One program has been providing fuel efficient stoves to communities in order to stem forest destruction for firewood. Patrol groups have also been established to protect the primates from poachers. [ send green star]
Fred H.	October 12, 2009 5:50 PM Since 2002 FFI's Asia-Pacific program has been working with local authorities in both Vietnam and China to save the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey and the cao vit gibbon. Habitat loss, poaching for bushmeat and traditional medicines, and a palm oil boom leading to massive deforestation across the region, have made Asia the worst place in the world for primates, according to Conservation International Director Russel Mittermeier. [ send green star]
Fred H.	October 13, 2009 7:20 PM The strange-looking Tonkin snub-nosed monkey is one of the world's rarest primates. Credit - Xi Zhinong, Wild China, FFI. [ send green star]
Fred H.	October 14, 2009 10:32 AM Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys now have their own nature reserve, which brings hope for their survival. Credit - Xi Zhinong, Wild China, FFI. http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0924-hance_tonkin_caovit.html TV footage leads to discovery of strange and rare monkey mongabay.com December 4, 2008 After showing archival TV footage of a critically endangered species of primate to local villagers, conservationists have discovered a previously unknown population of the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey in a remote forested area of northern Vietnam. The find the offers new hope for the species, which is down to 200 individuals in two of Vietnam's northern-most provinces — Tuyen Quang and Ha Giang. [ send green star]
Fred H.	October 15, 2009 4:17 PM Photos of the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus avunculus), which is named for its distinctive up-turned nose. The top photo is a portrait of the species, the lower image is an individual from the newly discovered population. Both photographs are by L K Quyet of Fauna & Flora International [ send green star]
Fred H.	October 16, 2009 3:06 PM The Tonkin snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus avunculus) — which was thought extinct until rediscovered in the late 1980s — is at risk from hunting and habitat loss. Biologists on the recent expedition noted that the Quan Ba population was "very sensitive to the presence of people", indicating that the monkeys associated humans with danger. FFI says cardamom plantations and logging for the Chinese timber market are the biggest threats to the newly discovered population, but that raising awareness among locals of the conservation importance of the species could help protect it. With funds provided by Twycross Zoo in the UK, FFI is working with local stakeholders and the Swiss development charity Caritas to develop sustainable livelihoods for villagers living near the forest that supports the monkeys. [ send green star]
Fred H.	October 17, 2009 12:21 PM "When I saw the Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys in Tung Vai Commune I was overjoyed," said Le Khac Quyet, an expert on the species who is credited with discovering both the new population and one in Khau Ca in 2002. "This new discovery further underlines the importance of learning more about the Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys' range and distribution. There is still time to save this unique species, but with just 200 or so left and threats still strong, we need to act now." http://news.mongabay.com/2008/1204-ffi_monkey.html [ send green star]
Fred H.	October 24, 2009 10:24 AM Rare monkeys double in number in China but remain under threat mongabay.com September 8, 2008 China's population of the gray snub-nosed monkey, a critically-endangered species endemic to Guizhou Province in southwestern China, has more than doubled in the wild since conservation measures were implemented in 1979, reports Chinese state media. The primate is the among country's most endangered species — even rarer than the better-known panda — with a population of around 850 according to the Fanjingshan National Nature Reserve Administration Bureau, which manages the 260-square-mile (670-square-kilometer) reserve where the bulk of individuals are found. The population has increased from about 400 in 1979. The species, which is also known as Guizhou golden hair monkey, was under threat from poaching and habitat loss caused by mining and logging. Efforts to breed the monkey in captivity have met little success — only 16 have been bred since 1992. [ send green star]
Fred H.	October 25, 2009 11:18 AM Yunnan Golden Monkey. Photo by Long Yongcheng / The Nature Conservancy The species — like two closely related species of golden monkey in China — inhabits high-altitude evergreen forests at elevations from 3,000 to 4,500 meters (9,800 to 14,800 feet), where temperatures may fall below freezing for several months in a row. CITATION: Endangered monkey population doubles in SW China. Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2008. [ send green star]
Fred H.	October 27, 2009 4:09 PM In search of rare, high elevation monkeys in China Saving China's golden monkey from extinction Rhett Butler, mongabay.com October 18, 2006 High in the cloud-shrouded Yunling mountains of northwestern Yunnan and southeastern Tibet (southwestern China) lives one of the world's most elusive monkeys, the Yunnan golden or snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti). The species dwells in the most extreme environment of any monkey—high-altitude evergreen forests at elevations from 3,000 to 4,500 meters (9,800 to 14,800 feet), where temperatures may fall below freezing for several months in a row. Today there are fewer than 2,000 Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys remaining. Hunting and habitat loss have brought the species, which is limited to a single mountain range, to the brink of extinction. The monkeys are fragmented into 15 small sub-populations, which are at risk because of genetic bottlenecks and inbreeding. [ send green star]
Fred H.	October 28, 2009 11:13 AM Yunnan Golden Monkey. Photo by Long Yongcheng / TNC To stave off this fate, the Nature Conservancy (TNC), working with the Chinese government and Conservation International, has launched the Yunnan Golden Monkey Program, an ambitious effort to better understand the monkey's habitat and ecological needs, while addressing some of the threats to its existence, especially habitat loss and poaching. The project is China's largest species-protection program since the conservation of the giant panda, which effectively began in the 1980s. There is hope that protection of this charismatic monkey species can help save the region's other highly biodiverse but fast-disappearing ecosystems. [ send green star]
Fred H.	October 29, 2009 5:22 PM Dr. Long Yongcheng, a primatologist with TNC, is running the golden-monkey program, and says that "with its beautiful human-like face, huge body size, and unique ecological adaptation, the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey is a charming creature that can be used as an excellent flagship species for guiding conservation effort in northwest Yunnan and its immediately adjacent Tibet, one of the global biodiversity conservation hot spots." "The monkey is also one of the world's 25 most endangered primate species and was even used as the logo for the Kunming World Horticulture Expo in 1999. However, despite its famous public face, little effort has been made on the ground to benefit the animal in the wild." [ send green star]
Fred H.	October 30, 2009 3:37 PM TNC is working to ensure that the situation changes. Yongcheng says that such species-oriented conservation actions can help to protect the most valuable remaining chunks of the primary temperate conifer forest in the region. But the effort will not be easy due to the long hunting history of the local population and the challenging terrain of the monkey's natural habitat. Further, because of the species' shy and reclusive nature, researchers don't even know its exact population, though a recent 13-month field survey found about 1,700 monkeys. Yunnan golden monkey habitat [ send green star]
Fred H.	November 01, 2009 11:07 AM For its part, the Chinese government has taken steps to reduce pressure on the monkey, enacting a hunting ban in Yunnan province and confiscating almost all hunting guns. Still, traps and snares are common and monkeys are sometimes accidentally caught by hunters pursuing other animals. Because monkey hunting is illegal, locals try their best to conceal evidence, so researchers have little knowledge of how many monkey are lost to traps each year. Yongcheng says that outside support and expertise are desperately needed to help local communities establish suitable agriculture and reduce the direct monkey mortality rate resulting from hunting pressure. "Local people are very supportive of the monkey conservation," Yongcheng said, "but such efforts are not their priority because their everyday survival needs, like putting food on their table, are much more urgent to them." [ send green star]
Fred H.	November 05, 2009 4:35 PM http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0924-hance_tonkin_caovit.html [ send green star]