9th Golden Monkey of the Year Is Born in Shennongjia

By Wang Xin, Guo Yuming, Tian Meng & Wang Pin

Every spring and summer marks the time for golden snub-nosed monkey families in Shenongjia to expand their population, and represents the happiest time for the keepers of the Reserve as well,for the successive birth of baby monkeys bring them great joy and happiness. As is known to all, golden monkeys, a national treasure of China, are often referred to as “the elf of the roof of Central China.” The birth of each baby means the addition of a national treasure to Shennongjia.

On July 29, a happy event occurred at the Dalongtan Golden Monkey Field Research Base of the Shennongjia National Park Research Institute. A female monkey named Xiaobei gave birth to a male baby, who was the ninth baby monkey born this year. The keepers named the new-born baby “Shanbei.” Up to now, the number of baby monkeys born this year has tied last year’s record of nine babies.

After Shanbei was born,Xiaobei held it in her arms all the time, tending to it carefully while other little golden monkeys kept visiting the little creature. The new-born Shanbei, with its dark snubbed nose and small bright eyes, was quite curious about everything it saw. Though the photographer was far away from them, Xiaobei still noticed his presence and then ran into the deep forest alertly, with one hand holding Shanbei, who hung onto its mother firmly. According to a keeper, Xiaobei is the head female monkey of the Mi Hu monkey family.

To ensure Xiaobei’s quick recovery from her delivery of the baby and that she had sufficient milk to feed the infant, the Base has assigned staff to observe the mother and the baby 24 hours a day to supervise and protect them. At the same time, they also provide various nutritious foods for the mother to make sure that both the mother and the baby son are safe and sound.

Through the zoom lens, it can be seen that the other eight baby monkeys have become robust and they are chasing and playing with each other. As their arms and legs are not strong enough yet, they cannot climb the tall trees but just toddle on the low branches.

Shanbei, the new-born baby monkey (Photo by Guo Yuming) 刚出生的小金丝猴“扇贝”（郭裕铭 摄）

每年春夏，是神农架金丝猴群添丁进口的日子，也是保护地管理员们最开心的时段，一只一只猴宝宝的降生，会给他们带来莫大的惊喜，因为金丝猴是中国的国宝，被誉为“华中屋脊精灵”，每一只小精灵的降生都意味着神农架又添了一件国宝。

7月29日，在神农架国家公园科学研究院大龙潭金丝猴野外研究基地，又添一喜，母猴“小贝”诞下了一只雄性猴宝宝，这也是今年基地诞生的第9只金丝猴宝宝，管理员给这个机灵呆萌的小家伙取名“扇贝”。至此，今年新生的猴宝宝数已经平了去年9只的纪录。

由于刚出生不久，“小贝”一直把“扇贝”抱在怀中，认真地呵护着，其他金丝猴宝宝也过来看望新的小伙伴。刚出生的“扇贝”，深黑的鼻子仰天翘着，明亮的小眼，看到什么都充满好奇。虽然摄影师离得很远，“小贝”还是机敏地觉察到，一只手把“扇贝”搂在怀里，钻到林间深处，“扇贝”则用双手紧紧抓住母亲。管理员介绍，“小贝”是金丝猴家庭“米糊”里的母猴。

为确保“小贝”产后体质尽快恢复，能分泌充足的乳汁哺育幼崽，基地派专人对母猴和新生婴猴进行全天候观察，监测保护，同时，为母猴提供多样化和有营养的食物，确保母子平安健康。

Baby monkeys playing together (Photo by Li Kaiyu) 今年出生的猴宝宝嬉戏在一起（李开宇 摄）

According to Yao Hui, vice dean of the Institute, the breeding of golden monkeys is seasonal.Usually, they mate between August and October. After about 200 days of pregnancy, the babies will be born in spring and summer of the next year. After a female monkey conceives a baby, she will have an entire winter to gestate,so that when the baby is born it will be warm spring weather with enough food and sufficient sunshine, which is favorable to the baby’s growth. Female monkeys usually give birth once every two years, with just one birth each time. The baby golden monkey’s breastfeeding period often lasts more than one year.

The golden monkey community at Dalongtan is the smallest one of all the monkey communities in Shenongjia, with over 90 monkeys that are divided into 7 families and 1 AMU (All the Male Unit). In April of 2019, the third census on the golden monkey population in Shennongjia was launched, revealing that after generations of protection of the monkeys on the part of people in Shennongjia and the common efforts of various sides, the golden monkey communities in Shennongjia have risen from 8 in the year 2005 to 10, with the total number of monkeys rising from over 1280 to over 1470, and their habitat area rising from 210 square kilometers to 354 square kilometers.

A new-born baby monkey by the side of its mother (Photo by Li Kaiyu)新生猴在母亲身边练肢体（李开宇 摄）

Mother monkeys holding their babies, guarded by a male monkey behind them (Photo by Li Kaiyu)猴妈妈抱着各自的孩子一起玩耍，一只雄猴在旁边保护（李开宇 摄）

通过变焦镜头，可以看到，那8只新生的猴宝宝已经逐渐强壮起来，它们在一起嬉闹，追逐。由于四肢还不够健壮，它们不会爬高大的树，只在一些低矮的树枝上蹒跚学步。

神农架国家公园科学研究院副院长姚辉介绍，金丝猴的繁殖是季节性的。通常，金丝猴一般在秋季的8至10月交配，经过约200天孕期，于来年春夏期间生产。这样，母猴受孕后通过整个冬天的孕育，小猴出世正值春暖花开，食物充足，阳光充沛，非常利于幼猴生长。母猴通常两年产仔一次，一次一胎，小金丝猴的哺乳期一般长达一年多。

大龙潭金丝猴群体是神农架金丝猴群体中最小的一个种群，数量有90多只，分7个家庭和1个全雄单元。2019年4月，神农架启动了第三次金丝猴种群调查，经过神农架几代人的守护和多方的共同努力，目前，神农架金丝猴种群数量已从2005年的8个增至10个，数量从1280余只增加到1470余只，栖息地面积从210平方公里增至354平方公里。