SichuanMosaics | Guardians of golden snub-nosed monkeys at nature reserve in SW China

(241015) -- JIUZHAIGOU, Oct. 15, 2024 (Xinhua) -- Tang Yulin interacts with Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys in Baihe National Nature Reserve in Jiuzhaigou County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Oct. 11, 2024. Tang Yulin is a forest ranger in Baihe National Nature Reserve, home to about 1,700 wild Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys, a species under top-level protection in China.

Tang Guoshun, granduncle of Tang Yulin, was one of the earliest staff members of the nature reserve upon its establishment in 1963. Later on, Tang Daihui, father of Tang Yulin also joined the team. In 1990, 22-year-old Tang Yulin took over the duty just like his granduncle and father, working as a forest ranger and protecting the monkeys in the reserve.

Due to mountainous paths and the lack of power supply in the reserve, the daily patrol used to be quite exhausting for Tang in the 1990s. To observe and record the trails and living habits of the Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys, he had to get up early and finish his breakfast by 4 a.m. In the old days, Tang Yulin spent nearly 200 days and nights each year in the mountain, carrying food and making shelter by himself.

Thanks to years of efforts on ecological protection and infrastructure construction, the working conditions for forest rangers in the reserve have been improved, and the Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys in reserve become familiar with relatively close contact with human beings. Currently, the density of Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys in Baihe National Nature Reserve is the highest among reserves in China.

In 2019, Tang's nephew, Tang Xiaogang, also became a forest ranger of the reserve.

"Monkeys eat leaves in trees, and I eat my biscuits under trees. That's how we slowly build up our trust. It is the most honorable thing for me that the monkeys live well here," said Tang Yulin. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)