First encounters with the Assamese Macaque in Longling county, Yunnan province

Recently, a photography enthusiast captured footage of a bear-like wild animal for the first time in one of the outer sections of the Xiaoheishan Provincial Nature Reserve, Longling county, Yunnan province. Based on the confirmation of Sun Guozheng, a zoology specialist from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the animal was found to be the Assamese Macaque, a national second-class protected animal.

As shown in the recorded video, a cute Assamese Macaque is seen hiding in the dense forest canopy. Whether relaxing in the trees with all its adorable expressions and postures, barking out like a dog in a hoarse voice, or jumping around on branches in excitement… each frame in the footage displays a harmonious relationship between the animal and nature.

According to Sun Guozheng, the body size of the Assamese Macaque is slightly larger than that of a Rhesus Macaque. Its name is derived from its large body size as well as its bear-like appearance. Normally, the Assamese Macaque will inhabit the upper reaches of tropical or semitropical mountain forests 2,000 meters above the sea. Usually they live out their days in the forest canopy, rarely spending time on the ground’s surface, which makes it exceptionally difficult to capture traces of their movements.

The Assamese Macaque is classified as a primate in the Macaca genus within the Cercopithecidae subfamily of Old World monkeys, with the animal having since been recognized as a national second-class protected animal in China. The animal was also listed as a Near Threatened species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008.