Golden Snub-nosed Monkey

The distribution of the golden snub-nosed monkey is limited to temperate forests on mountains in four provinces in China: Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, and Hubei. This monkey is found at elevations of 1,500-3,400 m. Within this area, vegetation varies with altitude from deciduous, broadleaf forests at low elevations to mixed coniferous, broadleaf forests above 2,200 m and coniferous forests above 2,600 m. Average annual temperature is 6.4 °C (43.5 °F) with a minimum of −8.3 °C (17.1 °F) in January and a maximum of 21.7 °C (71.1 °F) in July. Home range size varies seasonally. The change in home range size and location is dependent upon the availability and distribution of food. The total area covered by seasonal home ranges is surprisingly large for a species. One of the largest home ranges found covered 40 square kilometres (15 sq mi).

The golden snub-nosed monkey is found in groups ranging in size from 5–10 individuals to bands of about 600. The social organization of this species can be quite complex. The one-male-units (OMUs) are the basic social unit within groups of golden snub-nosed monkeys with many of the OMUs forming a bigger group. These multi-tier societies consist of several OMUs that include one adult male plus a number of adult females and their offspring. Some observers have even come to conclude that these large foraging groups are multi-male and multi-female societies. The male may stay solitary, often remaining away from the rest of the group members as they rest. Adult females tend to socialize more with one another than with other males or juveniles. Group members remain close to one another, interactions between different OMUs often result in confrontations. Females of the golden snub-nosed monkey are usually observed to form several close associations with other females. However, in conflicts against other units in the surrounding site, both males and females support each other, while also protecting their young (usually observed at a distance by putting the young in the center of the pack). Unusually for a harem-forming species, infanticide by males is averted. …