Name:Macaca cyclopis
Alias:Macaca cyclopis Swinhoe,Formosan macaque, black-limbed monkey, rock-dwelling macaque
Outline:Primates
Family:Primates Cercopithecidae Macaca
length:36-54cm
Weight:4-5kg
Life:20year
IUCN:LC
The Formosan monkey is endemic to China.
The Formosan monkey is similar to the macaque, but with a grayer body and darker tail. Their tails are both more than half the length of their bodies, but the Formosan monkey's tail is proportionally longer, smaller and fatter than the macaque's.
Around 1950, Formosan macaques could still be seen in zoos in mainland China, but in the 21st century, Formosan macaques have become extinct in mainland China and only exist in Taiwan. In November 1977, locals in the Central Mountain Range of Hualien County, Taiwan, captured a female Formosan macaque with a white body and named it "Meidi". After the incident was reported by the US Daily News and the BBC, the then French President, German President and Queen of England paid close attention to it. Some of them even wrote to the media, hoping to see photos of the white Formosan macaque with their own eyes. The fact that politicians pay attention to Formosan macaques also shows how rare this species is.
In 1980, a male Formosan macaque with a white body was also found in Yongsheng, Yunnan, and named "Nannan". Pan Qinghua, director of the Kunming Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences at that time, wrote to Wang Yaping, director of the Taipei Zoo, and Xu Fangjin, deputy director, respectively, expressing his hope that the rare white macaques on both sides of the Taiwan Strait would marry and reproduce pure offspring. This matter was reported by major domestic media that year and attracted national attention, but due to various reasons, this good wish was ultimately not realized.
In 1984, Taiwan Province proposed a protection strategy and established "Ershui", "Taitung", "Kenting" and other nature reserves mainly for the protection of Taiwan monkeys, effectively protecting this unique species. With the obvious increase in the number of Taiwan monkeys, in August 1997, a group of 200-300 Taiwan monkeys was found in the Tatajia saddle of the new Central Cross-Island Highway in Taiwan Province, China. In addition, a small number of Taiwan monkeys have been introduced to some islands in Japan.
The native population is only distributed on Taiwan Island, my country, with about 250,000 individuals. In addition, a small number of introduced populations are found in Japan. The natural enemy of the Taiwan monkey is mainly the clouded leopard, but the clouded leopard has long been extinct in Taiwan. After years of protection, the population of the Taiwan monkey has shown a steady upward trend.
China Species Red Book: China RL — EN
CITES: Not listed
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: IUCN RL —LC ver3.1 2008
Listed in the first level of the "List of National Key Protected Wildlife in China".
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