Myanmar Snub-nosed Monkey

Recognized by its black coat and an unusually short, upturned nose, the Myanmar Snub-nosed Monkey is a rare primate found in the eastern Himalayas. This species stands out due to a thin, forward-curved crest of hair on its crown and a white beard on its chin. Locals often call it the monkey with an upturned face, and it reportedly sneezes when rain falls into its exposed nostrils. To avoid this, the animals are said to sit with their heads tucked between their knees during storms.

These monkeys live in the high-elevation forests of northern Myanmar and across the border in China's Yunnan Province. They are highly arboreal, spending the majority of their time in trees rather than on the ground. To manage the changing seasons, they stay in temperate mixed forests at higher altitudes during the summer and move to lower elevations in winter to avoid the snow. Their diet is varied, consisting of more than 170 plant species along with fungal foods and lichens.

Survival for this species is difficult because they live in small, isolated populations. In Myanmar, only 260 to 330 individuals are known to exist, while fewer than 200 remain in China. The primary threats to their continued existence include hunting by local people for food and the loss of habitat. Deforestation caused by logging operations continues to shrink the mountain forests they depend on for survival.