Fun Golden Snub-nosed Monkey Facts For Kids

Golden snub-nosed monkeys, also known by their binomial name, Rhinopithecus roxellana, are a species of Old World monkeys that are found in southwestern and central China. As they are Chinese monkeys, they have the Chinese names Sichuan golden hair monkey and Sichuan snub-nosed monkey. There are three species of snub-nosed monkeys that are found in China. Of these, the golden snub nose was the species with the highest distribution as they were once very common in China.

The fun facts of this group of species are that their body is adapted in such a way that they can survive even in the snowy and cold regions, while the other primates cannot. Because of this feature, the Sichuan golden hair is mostly found in the Qinling Mountains, which is well above sea level.

Here on our page, we have a lot of interesting facts about the golden snub-nosed monkey for everyone to enjoy. Let's have a look at these interesting facts, and if you like these, you could also check out drill monkey facts and black spider monkey facts.

What type of animal is a golden snub-nosed monkey?

Golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) are primates.

What class of animal does a golden snub-nosed monkey belong to?

The Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) are primates belonging to the class Mammalia.

How many golden snub-nosed monkeys are there in the world?

Golden snub-nosed monkeys are an endangered species, and their population is limited. This Sichuan golden monkey is currently left at just a handful of numbers, around 8,000-10,000 individuals in the wild. Their population continues to decrease due to deforestation, resulting in habitat fragmentation and the loss of these monkeys.

Where does a golden snub-nosed monkey live?

The Sichuan golden monkey is the native primate of China, particularly found around the Tibetan plateau. These primates are found in the mountain forests of Hubei, Shaanxi, Gansu, and the Sichuan provinces. It is around the Sichuan province that the largest population of this species has been sighted.

What is a golden snub-nosed monkey habitat?

Golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) prefer to live in the mountain forest area at a high elevation range. Some of the kinds of forests these monkeys are found amongst are broadleaf trees, temperate, deciduous trees, and montane forests. Some smaller groups have also been sighted in the range of coniferous trees.

Who do golden snub-nosed monkeys live with?

The golden snub-nosed monkeys are highly social in behavior, as they are social animals. That is the reason they are always found in a group. The group can be of large or smaller groups consisting of a minimum of 20-30 monkeys. The larger groups can have around 600 individual troops in the family units with one dominant male, several females, and their young offspring golden snub-nosed monkeys. Their highly social behavior and large groups can cause them to display aggressive behavior towards one another while electing the dominant male and mating.

How long does a golden snub-nosed monkey live?

The life span of the golden snub-nosed monkey is usually long as they can live past 25 years in age. Otherwise, their average lifespan is around 20-23 years of age. Their long lifespan may be due to living in large troops in the wild with a maximum of 600 individuals in a troop.

How do they reproduce?

The mating season starts from March to June, where the adult males will perform the mating selection process with several females. Here, the females fight with each other for the selection of mating, and the male has the right to choose the female. The chosen females and the one male perform their reproductive process, where impregnation takes place. She then undergoes a gestation period of seven months. After that, one young is born unless. Female monkeys have also been observed to mate with males other than the dominant monkey. Although sometimes regarded as going overstepping the bounds of the dominant males, the dominant male does not harm these other offspring.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of the golden snub-nosed monkey is listed as Endangered by animal conservation bodies the IUCN, Convention of International Trade, and the National Nature Reserve Conservation. Their decreasing population is pinpointed towards loss of habitat and excess killing of these animals by humans for their fur and skin.

What do golden snub-nosed monkeys look like?

The adult male and female golden snub-nosed monkey have reddish gold-colored fur on their cape and back area. However, the hairs of the male's body are larger than the female's body. The face color of these monkeys is pale blue with a large set of canines in their jaws. The crown to nape areas of both the male and female are brown to dark brown in color except for the micro banding on the female crest. The tails of both males and females are longer than their head and body length. The identification between the male and female is quite easy as: when the female becomes an adult, their breasts become larger in size than the male animals and the males have a much larger body length and a much more muscular than the females.

How cute are they?

Golden snub-nosed monkeys are very cute and stunning groups of monkeys. Their blue-colored face with their golden-colored hair is an attractive feature of these monkeys. Because of their appearance, many people keep these adorable monkeys as their pets, although it is unkind and harmful to keep them in captivity.

How do they communicate?

The communication skills of the golden snub-nosed monkey fascinate many a researcher. Why? Because these monkeys produce vocalizations practically without moving their mouth or body! It is quite incredible unless a person is highly focused on the mouth region, only sounds will be heard with no movement. Apart from the long vocals, they also produce short calls like shrills and whines.

How big is a golden snub-nosed monkey?

The average height that a golden snub-nosed monkey can grow is up to 25 in (65 cm). These mammals of nature are larger than the red-headed woodpecker bird who is 8.2 in (21 cm) in length.

How fast can a golden snub-nosed monkey run?

There is no scientific research that has been conducted which quantifies the speed of the golden snub-nosed monkey. They are assumed to run at the speed at which every other monkey can, which is around 33 mph (53.1 kph).

How much does a golden snub-nosed monkey weigh?

The weight of the golden snub-nosed monkeys can be around 28 lb (13 kg).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no sex-specific names for male and female golden snub-nosed monkeys.

What would you call a baby golden snub-nosed monkey?

There is no particular name for a baby golden snub-nosed monkey. They are just known as infants.

What do they eat?

All monkeys are herbivore animals, whether it is the patas monkey or the golden snub-nosed monkey. These monkeys have a different diet for both the winter and summer seasons. During the summer period, their diet consists of leaves, seeds, fruits, and buds; during winter, their diet changes to the bark and lichens of trees. Sometimes they also feed on food like wild onions and grasses.

How active are they?

The golden snub-nosed monkey is considered to be a highly active monkey, just the same as every other species. These monkeys are in the category of diurnal animals, meaning they are active during the daytime like most mammals.

Would they make a good pet?

Golden snub-nosed monkeys can technically be kept in captivity, but these creatures require a high level of maintenance a lot of attention. So if you want to keep them as pets, be ready to give a lot of care and attention to the monkey. On the other hand, if you want to help them, don't keep them in captivity. Instead, they should be living in their natural habitats.

Did you know...

When they are born, the infant golden snub-nosed monkey is light brown in color, which almost appears white in color during the sunlight. As the infant grows in age, their light brown color changes to dark brown and golden reddish in color.

The most dangerous monkey found in the world is the mandrill monkey which is listed as the vulnerable animal.

How does the golden snub-nosed monkey protect itself?

These beautiful creatures are constantly facing threats. Hence they are categorized as Endangered and need to defend themselves in order to survive and stay safe in the world. For this, they live in groups of around 600 individuals in order to attack and defend their groups and territories during dangerous situations.

Why is the golden snub-nosed monkey endangered?

There are many reasons that the golden snub-nosed monkey is listed as Endangered. The main reason is the loss of habitat of these creatures due to fast rates of human development. In order for this development to take place, humanity is cutting down forests which are the homes of these magnificent creatures. Another reason for their decrease in population is that humans hunt them for their meat and furs.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other mammals from our saki monkey facts and morkie dog facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable golden snub-nosed monkey coloring pages.