Tian Quan is the name of a male golden monkey that lives in a protective center for endangered animals located in Yufa Township in Beijing's Daxing County.
In the center, he is part of a perfect family, which includes his two wives, a son, and a daughter. The habits and behavior of this family of monkeys are identical to those followed by their counterparts in the wild: no matter how much favor a female monkey gains, she must show unconditional obedience to her mate. This is fully displayed when the family feeds.
On the day we visited the center, their lunch was extremely rich and plentiful. The meal included cooked eggs, tomato, corn, sweet potato, and apples. The food was placed in dishes; and when all the dishes were served, Tian Quan enjoyed the food first, followed by his favored wife. The last one to savor the meal was Tian Quan's second wife: she stayed in a corner until the others had finished.
Feeling sympathy for the pitiful female monkey, the keeper secretly gave her an egg after giving two eggs to Tian Quan and one to the monkey's favored wife. Tian Quan quickly realized what had happened, so he threw away the egg he was eating and snatched the one given to his second wife.
The male monkey is also strict with his children. Not clear about the family rules, his young son used to feed before the others. Tian Quan first warned him by yelling, but the young monkey took no notice of his father's warning. Extremely angry, Tian Quan seized his son abruptly and threw him down to the ground. Since then, every time he wants to take food, his son will solicit his father's permission using eye contact.
Despite these displays of discipline, they are also affectionate with each other. These monkeys will often express their friendship by embracing. Mutual grooming though is the most typical behavior used to communicate affection. While a female monkey grooms a male to express her wish to court his favor, she grooms a fellow female to express her obedience. A male monkey that grooms a female is seeking to court her. Adult golden monkeys mate from September to November. A female commonly gives birth about four months after she falls pregnant. The mother holds her infant in her arms all the time. When her young are warned by their father, she instinctively shields them until their father moves aside.
Golden monkeys live high up in the mountains where few humans have set foot. There are now less than 10,000 golden monkeys in China, of which about 3,000 are Sichuan Golden Monkeys, known as the monkeys with the most beautiful fur. Their diminishing numbers make artificial breeding crucial to the survival of this endangered species. Over the past ten years, the center has successfully bred 21 golden monkeys. The success is partly attributed to Tian Quan and his family, whose mating habits and social rules have provided rare research material for the center.
(China Pictorial January 29, 2003)
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