Fernweh

Giant Panda

The Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), although a member of the order Carnivora and related to other bear species, lives on a diet of > 99% bamboo shoots and leaves. Native to central China, the Panda has been the subject of intensive conservation efforts and has recently been reclassified from endangered to vulnerable. There are approximately 2,000 Pandas living in the wild in China’s mountains, with another 300 or so in captivity worldwide (~85% in China).

Black Snub-Nosed Monkeys

The Rhinopithecus bieti live at high altitudes in Yunnan Province, near the border with Myanmar. Effectively unknown until the 1990’s, they are endangered, with only about 1,700 individuals remaining. They primarily eat lichen, but also bamboo leaves and some other plants. Adult males weigh about 30 pounds, while females are typically about 20 pounds.

Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys

These monkeys, Rhinopithecus roxellana, are threatened, with a population of perhaps 10-15,000 in the wild across three subspecies. They live at moderate altitude, about 4,000 – 10,000 feet, in troops of about 100 individuals.

This guy ^ may have watched too many old American Tourister (not Samsonite!) luggage commercials…