Snub-nosed Monkeys – Cute Critters – January 2011

I have not done a Cute Critters post for a while due to other studio commitments but after falling in love with this baby snub-nosed monkey, I just had to start off 2011 with these stunning monkeys.  You will melt when you see the two year old!  So here is January’s dose of aaaaawwwwh!

The photos and info are from the National Geographic Website here

Not yet two, a golden snub-nosed monkey perches in a highland forest in China’s Zhouzhi National Nature Reserve. Maturity comes by age seven. Life span is unknown.

Family members huddle on a slope in central China, where freezing temperatures hang on for weeks and snow cover persists through March. Few monkeys endure a harsher clime.

Grooming females choose the safety of a high seat, the preferred post for a species that spends more than 90 percent of its life in the trees.

Grooming females choose the safety of a high seat, the preferred post for a species that spends more than 90 percent of its life in the trees.

What about those cool blue faces surrounded by soft beige, copper and brown fluff as the monkeys mature?  These have to be the most artistic and colourful monkeys around don’t you think?

The photos were taken by Cyril Ruoso and are available to purchase as framed or unframed prints onto paper or canvas.  I may just have to purchase a print of the baby monkey – it’s been such a while since I have been this smitten by a photo!  He is tucking his little paws in like Merlo, my ragdoll cat and I love the composition of this shot  with the gorgeous soft background, otherwise known as bokeh.  What a little darling and kudos to Cryril Ruoso for creating this magnificent wildlife portrait.

and some more….

In the wild, Golden Snub Nosed Monkeys spend 97% of their time in the trees and live in widely ranging social units from just five individuals to over six hundred! These Old World monkeys live primarily off lichen. Unfortunately loggers in China remove the dead trees that produce the tastiest and most abundant lichens, steadily destroying this beautiful primate’s habitat. These pictures were taken at Korea’s Everland Zoo by In Cherl Kim this past November and December.