Chinese golden monkeys to head to France on 10-year goodwill conservation mission
The endangered species will take up residence at Beauval Zoo, joining a family of giant pandas from China
A trio of golden snub-nosed monkeys will make their way from China to France as part of an international cooperation programme to mark 60 years of diplomatic relations.
The China Wildlife Conservation Association signed a conservation and research agreement on the endangered species with France’s Beauval Zoo in Shanghai on Wednesday, the association said.
Under the agreement, any monkeys born in France will be returned to China when they are five years old, and all of the group will go back once the 10-year agreement ends.
Golden snub-nosed monkeys, with their golden-orange fur and upturned nose, are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as an endangered species, with an estimated 3,800 of the animals in the wild in the southwestern province of Yunnan in 2022.
Their range extends through central and southwestern China, from the forests of the Qinling mountain range, to Hubei, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces.
In China, they are protected as national treasures, along with the giant panda and crested ibis.
