Population of rare golden monkeys increases in China's Shennongjia

WUHAN, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Shennongjia Forestry District in central China's Hubei Province has reported population growth of golden monkeys thanks to efforts in habitat protection.

The area is now home to 1,618 golden monkeys, 147 more than the previous survey five years ago, according to the results of the fourth survey conducted by the district administration.

As the easternmost habitat of golden monkeys, Shennongjia saw only 501 golden monkeys with a habitat of 164 square km in 1990. The figures improved over the years, with 1,282 monkeys living an area of 189 square km in 2005, and 1,471 residing in an area of 354 square km in 2019.

More than 40 people contributed to the latest survey, carrying out field investigations and laboratory analysis for over two months. During this process, they explored 240 survey routes, covering a total distance of 58,800 km.

Feng Wei, secretary of the Party committee of Shennongjia Forestry District, said the survey suggested 1,618 golden monkeys belonging to 11 groups now live in a habitat of 401 square km in the district.