(CN) Snub nosed monkeys

[Guest guest]

Hard but thrilling pursuit

 

" Our story is long, the tale of Zhong Tai, Xiao Lin, Long Yongcheng and the

Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys, " said Craig Kirkpatrick, 41, slowly in Chinese, as if

opening a chapter of the " Arabian Nights. "

 

Kirkpatrick is one of the few researchers who work to protect the endangered

Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, known in Latin as rhinopithecus bieti. Barely 1,000

are believed to remain.

 

The American scientist loves these lovely, smart creatures about as much as he

loves reciting the tales of his research group's adventures in the mountains of

Sichuan Province, where they discovered and observed them for several years.

 

Start of a long journey

 

In 1994, Kirkpatrick embarked on a long journey to Southwest China as a doctoral

student at the University of California in the United States. Gradually, he

focused his research on Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys.

 

French scientists first reported on the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey back in the

1890s, but subsequent zoologists never confirmed their existence.

 

In 1986, some Chinese researchers chanced upon a living Yunnan snub-nosed monkey

in the forests of Deqin County in northwest Yunnan. Still, people knew little of

this shy primate and found very few of them.

 

In 1994, Kirkpatrick reached the Baima Snow Mountains Nature Reserve in Deqin.

Set up in 1983, the reserve bordering Yunnan and the Tibet Autonomous Region has

20 snow-capped peaks more than 5,000 metres above sea level.

 

Kirkpatrick recruited two assistants from the reserve, Zhong Tai and Xiao Lin.

 

" At first, we didn't think he would be willing to enter the deep mountains,

valleys or the glacial regions, " Zhong said. " So we just built a camp near the

road. "

 

A month passed, but nothing meaningful came in sight near the roadside camp.

Kirkpatrick became impatient.

 

" One day, we were very surprised when Lao Ke (a nickname for Kirkpatrick, whose

Chinese name is Ke Ruige) burst out in fury, demanding to see the monkeys, "

Zhong recalled. " That's when we knew he was here for real. "

 

Together with Long Yongcheng, another researcher of the reserve, Zhong Tai and

Xiao Lin helped Kirkpatrick to carry the equipment into the mountains.

 

A week later, they settled on a mountain ridge about 4,300 metres above sea

level. The area was transitional from coniferous forests to alpine grassland,

terrain that provided ample food, for snub-nosed monkeys.

 

It was already May 1995, and snow still capped the Baima Snow Mountains. One

afternoon, Kirkpatrick left the camp alone in search of the monkeys. Less than

an hour later, everyone heard him running back shouting indistinctly. On that

mountain, a strong man gasps for air if he walks too fast.

 

" What did you see? Run into a black bear? " Zhong joked.

 

" No, monkeys! Snub-nosed monkeys! I saw them! " shouted Kirkpatrick in broken

Chinese.

 

Everyone leaped up and ran. Hiding behind a giant rock, they set up the tripod

and got the telescope ready.

 

About 20 minutes crawled by before Xiao Lin uttered a cry. They saw through the

telescope a plump monkey leaping onto a tree in the sunlight from the shadows of

another tree. Its golden hair was shining in the afternoon sun. Soon a dozen

monkeys, small and large, glided across the scene. It was no doubt a huge family

of snub-nosed monkeys.

 

The research group got up at 3 am the next day, fearful the monkeys would leave

before they got there.

 

When they arrived at the rock at 4:30 am, everyone was relieved to see the

monkeys still sleeping in the pine trees.

 

To fend off the cold, the humans walked quietly in a circle. Three hours later,

when the sunlight reached the grass through the trees, the monkeys finally

awoke. One after another, they leaped from tree to tree, seemingly doing morning

exercises.

 

Months of careful observation ensued, revealing that these scientists had found

the largest group of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys in the Baima Snow Mountains. The

group comprised more than 180 members in a dozen families.

 

Kirkpatrick and his colleagues found that the monkeys lived in a strict

patriarch system. Each family was led by a male monkey twice the size of a grown

female. The family head had about five female mates.

 

Family members have status and roles. In crossing a ditch, for example, the

unpaired young male monkeys went first because they were at the lowest rank in

the group. If the ditch proved safe, the monkey king's family would cross ahead

of the families of some powerful or " aristocratic " male monkeys, who in turn

were followed by families of lower rank.

 

Sometimes when the monkeys took a rest, the female monkeys fought if they

wandered into the territory of other families. If a female monkey was captured

by another family, she would be forced to become the wife of this family's head.

The young monkeys never appeared hurt in the fights.

 

Bear and snake

 

The Baima Snow Mountains Nature Reserve hosts a variety of eco-systems from dry

subtropical valleys to alpine forests lining the ascending elevation. It is a

rare treasure of bio-diversity.

 

To study the Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys, the researchers had to adapt to the

living style of the primates, since they only had time to renew their supplies

outside the mountains once every six or eight months.

 

One time, it rained heavily and the monkeys took shelter in a giant tree, with

the monkey king sitting atop.

 

None of the researchers had a raincoat, so they sat drenched under a tree and

waited for the rain to stop. Suddenly, Zhong Tai spotted a giant black bear

standing on its hind legs just 10 metres behind Kirkpatrick.

 

" I was already wet through, but I still felt a cold sweat, " Kirkpatrick

recalled.

 

They carried guns, but no one wanted to resort to them unless the bear clearly

posed a threat to their lives.

 

The bear walked a few steps further like a human being, then dropped its front

feet and stopped, gazing at them.

 

For 10 minutes, they seemed to have forgotten how to breathe. At last, the bear

turned and walked away.

 

Another rainy night, the scientists followed the monkeys to a giant protruding

rock and decided to spend the night underneath. After they lit the last dry

match, Kirkpatrick found himself facing a long snake wound around on a tree in

front of the rock.

 

" In the whole world, I dreaded snakes the most, " said Kirkpatrick.

 

Again, conscience forbade them to shoot the snake. But none of them could fall

asleep with a serpent nearby. Zhong Tai suggested they could tie the snake to

the tree without hurting it. Throwing a rope at the snake like cowboys trying to

round up a horse, they caught the serpent .

 

To get water for their camp, they carried a 25-kilogram barrel across an area of

giant rubble. Sunday was face-washing day. Each time they headed for the

mountains, they would shave bald. When they came out half a year later, everyone

was hairy.

 

" I've seen many foreign researchers fascinated by the snub-nosed monkeys, but

never did I see anyone like Kirkpatrick who turned himself into a hairy monkey, "

said Xi Zhinong, an environmental photographer based in Yunnan.

 

Through the three years of hard work, Kirkpatrick formed a close friendship with

his assistants. Among them, Kirkpatrick regards Zhong Tai as his best friend.

 

All of 1.9 metres tall, Kirkpatrick had great difficulties crawling through

thick underbrush. One winter, he and Zhong Tai were following the monkeys when

he tripped and rolled down the slope for dozens of metres before some tree

branches held him.

 

The next morning, they found the snow getting heavier every minute. In some

places, the snow was higher than their knees. They had to return to the camp as

fast as possible.

 

Hours later, they were still far from the camp. Kirkpatrick was so tired, he

begged Zhong to go back first and leave him alone to rest. But Zhong dragged him

on. They broke into a quarrel. Still, Zhong didn't leave him.

 

At midnight, they reached the camp. Both had frozen feet. They rubbed each

other's feet while Kirkpatrick apologized for his bad temper.

 

" Lao Ke is just like that, I don't mind, " smiled Zhong.

 

In 1996, Kirkpatrick helped Zhong Tai get a scholarship from an international

environmental group, enabling Zhong to attend the Southwest Forestry University.

 

" The future of Chinese environmentalism is in the hands of Zhong Tai and other

young people, " Kirkpatrick said.

 

In the past few years, Kirkpatrick has studied the food, breeding behaviour and

social structure of the Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys. The creature was previously a

mystery to the outside world.

 

With help from Long Yongcheng, Zhong Tai and Xiao Lin, he has published articles

in international primate journals, offering valuable information about the rare

species.

 

Today Kirkpatrick focuses on the investigation on commercial trade of endangered

species and studying the conservation of the three types of golden monkeys in

Southwest China's Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces.

 

 

--

02/19/2001

Author: ZHANG KEJIA and LIU BIAN

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