Tree Hugger

It's been a long time since I was here. Too much traveling, too little time in between, etc. Yep, excuses 

So let's start with an animal you haven't seen much, if ever before.

The golden snub-nosed monkey is endemic to a small area in temperate, mountainous forests of central and Southwest China. They inhabit these mountainous forests of Southwestern China at elevations of  up to 3,400 m above sea level.

Unfortunately these ridiculously photogenic animals are an endangered species, with less than 2,500 still remaining of this particular sub-species, and numbers are still declining.

The guy you see here is an adult male. They have large bodies covered with very long, golden guard hairs on their backs - pretty cool and the chicks really like it.

The golden snub-nosed monkey is found in groups ranging in size from 5-10 individuals to bands of about 600. The males often stay solitary, remaining away from the rest of the group members as they rest.

The golden snub-nosed monkey is endangered due to habitat loss. For instance, lichens are the main staple of the monkey's diet and dead trees have the greatest lichen coverage. Unfortunately, dead trees are harvested, thus reducing the quality of the habitat and availability of food. The monkey is a highly selective feeder, so damage to its habitat seriously impacts the species.