We are here outside the
Tacheng village on the border
between
Sichuan and Yunnan and we're here to see
Rhinopithecus bieti
the black snub-nosed.
These primates are really unusual because they are
actually the highest living besides humans.
They tend to range from about 2,000 meters
and in this case up to 4,500 meters
above sea level
and as such they have a very very thick
coat so they can deal with the cold and
they've also got the
very small noses after which they have been named and it's thought that this
might be an adaptation so that they
don't get frozen off by the cold
temperatures up in the mountains.
Actually it's one of the
least known primate because they tend to live in very inaccessible places.
This particular species was collected by a bishop, a French Bishop called Felix Biet.
It hasn't really been studied
as much as its close relative the Golden
snub-nosed monkey which is found further
to the north in more accessible areas.
