The status of primates in China

Published source details Bangjie T. (1985) The status of primates in China. Primate Conservation, 5, 63-77.
Share Tweet Email

Actions

This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Implement local no-hunting community policies/traditional hunting ban Action Link
	Regularly and continuously provide supplementary food to primates Action Link
	Legally protect primate habitat Action Link
	Legally protect primate habitat Action Link

Implement local no-hunting community policies/traditional hunting ban

A review on the status of grey snub-nosed monkeys Rhinopithecus brelichi in 1962-1977 in tropical montane forest in Fanjingshan Nature Reserve, China, which is sacred to pilgrims, found that very few individuals (<1 individual annually) were killed or captured by humans. Because the area is sacred, it is forbidden to kill wildlife there. The recorded cases show that four individuals were killed in 1962, one trapped in 1964, one caught alive in 1967, one killed in 1969, one caught alive in 1970, two killed in 1975, and three trapped in 1977. The trapped animals were caught in traps meant for other animals and the killed or captured animals were crop raiders which had come down to the villages located in the valley.
Regularly and continuously provide supplementary food to primates

A review in 1985 in tropical montane forest in Nanwan Nature Reserve, China on the status of rhesus monkeys Macaca mulatta found that regularly providing individuals with supplementary food along with designating the area an internationally protected nature reserve, resulted in an increase in their population by more than 90% over seven years. The population increased from ‘a few dozen’ in 1976 to 600-700 individuals by 1983, excluding the >100 monkeys that were captured and supplied to scientific and medical institutions. However, no statistical tests were carried out to determine whether this increase was significant. The area became an internationally protected nature reserve in 1976. The study does not distinguish between the effects of the different interventions mentioned above.
Legally protect primate habitat

A review on the status of rhesus monkeys Macaca mulatta in 1976-1983 in tropical montane forest in Nanwan Nature Reserve, China found that their population increased in numbers by more than 90% over seven years after the area was proclaimed an internationally protected nature reserve along with provisioning monkeys with supplementary food. Their numbers increased from ‘a few dozen’ in 1976 to 600-700 individuals by 1983, excluding the >100 monkeys that were captured and supplied to scientific and medical institutions. However, no statistical tests were carried out to determine whether this difference was significant. The study does not distinguish between the effects of the different interventions mentioned above.
Legally protect primate habitat

A review on the status of grey snub-nosed monkeys Rhinopithecus brelichi in 1978-1985 in tropical montane forest in Fanjingshan Nature Reserve, China found that no individuals were killed or captured in the area after it was proclaimed a provincial nature reserve in 1978, although 13 individuals were trapped and/or killed by poachers in 1962-1977. The population was reported to be young or sub-adult, further indicating that it was increasing in size. The reserve administration appeared to be preserving the virgin forests effectively. The area also represents a sacred mountain for pilgrims, which forbids the killing of wildlife. There were few killings (<1 individual annually) of grey snub-nosed monkeys reported in the area even before it was proclaimed a nature reserve. Surveys conducted in 1981-1983 had discovered eight groups totalling 450-500 monkeys, and estimates of the total population in the area were as high as 2,000-3,000 animals.