Sorry and Science

Sorry about the delay between posts. I am actually trying to line up some special things for the new year for us here at Potspoon! Productions locally. Without further ado, however, more science food for thought...

In association with my previous posts about gorillas, I have more primate news. Normally I use my own photos or photos licensed under creative commons, but this photo was so amazing I had to break my rules for a sec. It is from the BBC News article that this post is about.

The Tonkin snub-nosed monkey is a critically endangered animal thought to have had fewer than 250 individuals in the wild. Most of these were located in northeastern Vietnam. Scientists just discovered a group of about 20 in northwestern Vietnam. While the numbers aren't fantastic, this means that there are more than anticipated and with proper control, we can save this species.

More Info

Scientific Name: Rhinopithecus avunculus

• There is not too much information on these stunning creatures. They have only wieghed four of them with the females around 8 kg (18 lbs) and the one male around 15 kg (32 lbs) so they are not very big.

• Their diet is primarily (as recorded so far) leaves, especially from bamboo, and fruit. They are found in very small groups in northern Vietnamese lowlands.
  

• They group like most primates having one male to many females. Other males form "bachelor" groups. It is unknown if the females are unrelated as in the gorillas or if there is kinship like chimpanzees.
  

• They have lost more than 70% of their habitat since 1986.

• In 1994, they were placed on the endangered species list. In 1996 they were moved to critically endangered.
  

Biologists from Fauna and Flora International are the ones that found this new group. Loss of habitat and use in medicines (really?!) are what have lead to this primate's decline.

That is it for now... Happy Monday!