The year of the monkey talks about the ascetic monk on Wushi Mountain in the monkey series - the white-headed langur
(1) The magical stone mountain forest
There is a vast stone mountain area in the far south. The mountains here are steep. Although there are no towering mountains, there are cliffs everywhere. The stones that make up the mountain have been eroded by rain all year round, forming many caves. In the cave, there are all kinds of strange stalagmites or hanging stalactites. In some caves, rainwater seeps through the cracks in the rocks and forms rivers. The river either passes through hundreds of miles of continuous caves, or flows underground to form an underground river. There is no sun or moon all year round in the underground river, and some unknown fish, shrimps and insects live here. Some are completely transparent, while others have gradually lost their eyesight and can barely see anything or light.
On such a magical stone mountain, there is little water on the surface. However, the plants are still extremely lush. Cycads, which were the same age as the dinosaurs, adapted to such arid and hot weather, and grew in clusters on cliffs and in sunny places. Their leaves are long and pointed, like soft swords, and they bloom once every few years. Cycads are not alone, the tropical iconic plant Dracaena also lives here. When the dragon's blood tree is damaged, it will exude a dark red plasma-like mucus - this mucus is considered to be dragon's blood in legend, hence the name of the dragon's blood tree. Tall clam trees often survive hundreds of years of wind and frost, forming huge trunks that even a few people can’t wrap their arms around. Banyan trees stand alone in the valleys, their aerial roots leaking into the air like wisps of willow trees, and their plate-like roots going deep into the ground, showing traces of time. Not only that, there are also various orchids dotted in the jungle, clustered in dark corners, or hanging high on tree trunks. Red kapok, warm firewood, golden camellia, and apple blossoms like stars, all bloom brilliantly in different seasons.
How come there are so few animals in this world? Have you ever seen a gecko eating mosquitoes in the corner of your home? Here is its relative, the gecko, which is larger and more colorful. Remember the pangolin in "Calabash Baby"? This was also their paradise. There are also various civets, deer muntjacs and cats, such as the ocelot with brown spots, the golden cat with golden body, and even the legendary clouded leopard. Black bears are also found here, and so are cobras. And the ancestor of the KFC chicken we eat, the jungle fowl, also lives here. You can hear their calls while walking among the mountains in the evening.
Such a world is inseparable from the presence of our closest friend, the monkey. Groups of macaques, led by the monkey king, scoured the rocky mountains and farmlands. Sometimes they hid in the mountains to eat young leaves and fruits, and sometimes they scurried into the farmlands to steal corn and other crops. Slightly larger than them are the bear monkeys, which form a group of more than ten and are often difficult to see. The bigger one is the red-faced monkey, with a very short tail, but its complexion becomes redder with age, as if it is drunk. Their character is also like being drunk, and they often fight for the throne. Other animals also walk around when they see them.
(2) The legend of the white-headed langur
The most unique of all monkeys living here is an animal called the white-headed langur. It only lives in the rocky mountains here. Some studies believe that the ancestors of white-headed langurs appeared on the earth at least 30 million years ago. After a long period of time, it was finally active in an area of less than 200 square kilometers between Zuojiang and Mingjiang. Later, the Luoyue people moved here and opened up farmland to grow corn, rice, cassava and sugar cane. The white-headed langurs have been watching for thousands of years on the cliffs next to the farmland. They are neither close to humans nor similar species, but they rely on natural dangers like cliffs to never go far. So much so that no matter which village you live in, the legend of the white-headed langur is spread.
A long time ago, in a poor mountain village, the villagers often suffered from hunger because they did not have enough food. There, when the old man died, he was buried on the cliff. The mourners should wrap a white linen belt around their heads to show their condolences to the old man. After a funeral, some children stayed in the bushes on the mountain full of wild fruits, gradually grew up, had children, and lived a happy life from generation to generation. As time went by, the white linen tied on the head turned into white hair, and the white linen bag on the waist turned into a white tail to show the memory of my parents.
No one knows when and where this legend originated. But such legends tell the story of the relationship between white-headed langurs and humans. White-headed langurs were once called rock cats or rock spider monkeys, which means that they are as flexible as cats and as stable as spiders among mountains and on steep peaks. White-headed langurs are also called white apes, which means apes are good at helping. Cheng Pu in the Song Dynasty wrote a poem: "Climbing trees on cliffs to become apes", which means that apes are very good at climbing cliffs and climbing trees. This is exactly what happens with white-headed langurs. These names all show that the ancients were no strangers to white-headed langurs.
People who have seen the white-headed langur are amazed by the good leap of the white-headed langur. Above the drop of more than ten meters, he leaped vertically, firmly grasped the branch, and swung over easily. But they are also bewildered by their silence. In the early morning and evening, when the morning sun has just risen, or when the sunset has not completely set, the white-headed langurs sit on the top of the mountain, either alone or in groups, sitting quietly where the sunlight comes from. They are like monks practicing hard in the mountains, enjoying the world of stone mountains.
The ascetic monks drink from the rainwater accumulated in the stone nests or the dewdrops on the branches and leaves in the morning, and eat from various abundant leaves. Unlike macaques, which rely on special cheek pouches under their cheeks to store food, they have a gastric chamber in their stomach that can break down cellulose. Faced with leaves that seem difficult for us humans to swallow, this stomach chamber can digest them into energy needed for exercise. They will even lick some mineral salts to help decompose the bitter taste and toxins in the leaves. They are not picky. When scientists first started observing, they thought they chose dozens of different foods. However, after decades of research, they found that they have a wide range of recipes and use more than 150 food sources. They are the best collectors of this lush stone mountain virgin forest.
(3) Rediscovering the white-headed langur
However, it was not more than a hundred years before humans truly realized its uniqueness. In 1952, Tan Bangjie was the director of the Beijing Zoo and an expert who loved animals. He led a team to Guangxi to inspect my country's animal resources. The first time he heard about the "white ape", the local name confused him. He thought it was a gibbon without a tail, but later he heard that the "white ape" had a long tail. It is also speculated that it is an albino type, similar to the difference between the "white tiger" and the tiger we see in the zoo. It wasn't until one day that he discovered an old langur skin in a small traditional Chinese medicine store in the suburbs of Nanning that he uncovered the mystery. According to the person at the drugstore, it is made from the skin of the legendary "white ape" and is collected from Fusui to Longzhou in southern Guangxi. Mr. Tan Bangjie saw the white-headed langur for the first time.
At that time, the world knew that there was still a kind of black leaf monkey living in Guangxi. Black langurs and white-headed langurs are very similar. The only difference is that black langurs have white hair on both sides of their cheeks, like two white beards. Mr. Tan Bangjie observed that the fur in front of him was interlaced with black and white. In 1955, he called it a "leaf monkey" in his article "Apes in my country". The article described it this way: "Below the head, to the throat, neck and shoulders are milky white, and the tops and sides of the hands and feet are milky white. There is also a part of white on the elbows and the inner sides of the legs. The upper two-fifths of the tail are black and the lower three-fifths are gray. The rest of the body is dark brown, and the general shape, posture, and parts of the body are also black. The proportions, etc., are completely similar to the black langur."
Soon after, he finally saw the living body of the white-headed langur. In 1957, when this discovery was presented to scientists around the world, the "white ape" It was not called a mosaic langur, nor was it designated as a "Tan's langur". Instead, it was named the white-headed langur based on nature and its most striking features. This feature, through the legend of the white-headed langur, is a testimony shared by ancient and modern people.
To this day, humans have discovered that the white-headed langur is not alone. There are black-headed langurs and white-rumped langurs distributed from Java Island and some Indonesian islands, to Vietnam and Thailand in Indochina, to China and India. Monkeys, white-headed langurs, black langurs, golden-headed langurs and other 17 species of similar animals. They are so closely related that scientists continue to debate their differences and evolution. But the animals are only limited by various rivers and oceans, and they are looking for a future life alone.
(4) Challenging the limits of survival
In May 2013, the sun was scorching the earth and the weather was extremely sultry. However, the sultry weather did not make our beautiful karst beautiful. The elf, the white-headed langur, is depressed. On the contrary, the mother-child mountain monkey group is jumping for joy with the arrival of new members. After a gestation period of about six months, several little white-headed langurs came into the world one after another. One of the newborns was called a "little pomegranate" by staff at the reserve.
The little pomegranate is different from its parents. When it was born, its fur was golden, which swept away the dim black and white of its parents. This is a peculiar characteristic of the white-headed langur: in its early childhood, its extremely bright golden color is very eye-catching and can be recognized at a glance even from hundreds of meters away. Logically speaking, newborn cubs are extremely fragile, and the natural enemies that can only threaten the white-headed langur are most eyeing of young individuals. This brightness is the greatest danger of exposure.
However, perhaps in the course of millions of years of evolution, parents are more important to the growth of white-headed langurs. Beautiful colors allow the whole family to focus all their attention on these little things. Natural mothers don’t say much. Young mothers will hug their children tightly, not daring to relax at all about the surrounding environment, and constantly vigilantly searching for even the smallest movements and sounds around them. Other aunts can also take a look at her from time to time, and will give a warning when something happens.
The most important thing is the father's attitude. White-headed langurs are uniquely polygamous. In a typical group of 8-12 animals, there are often wives but only one husband. The husband's position is often fiercely contested. The young adult male monkey defeats the old male monkey and becomes the new monkey king. He can produce his own offspring, but at the same time he must be wary of younger males coming to challenge him. Well, in addition to ensuring his own food source, the monkey king husband spends a lot of time every day on guard duty in the treetops and on the top of the mountain. During the hard breaks, giving birth to one's own offspring became the most urgent matter. The result is that several children are often born over a period of time. Which child is more important? The children who grow up to be the most important are the most important.
How can you tell when it will grow best into adulthood? Beautiful coat color reflects all of this.
The newly born little pomegranate is one of the most beautiful children in the batch. But mom is too young. Her enemies are not only natural enemies, but also hot weather. The young mother was enjoying her family happiness, but she hugged the little pomegranate too hard and held it in her arms, as if she were covering the most dazzling pearl. She may have imagined that this healthy, beautiful little pomegranate would undergo continuous changes in coat color in the future. One month later, the fur on the body turned dark brown, and three months later, the fur on the head also began to turn dark brown. until they are consistent with their parents. In another year, it will be able to move independently and know what can and cannot be eaten. After a few more years of stable life, if it is a girl, it will continue to live with its parents. If it is a young man, it will enter a new world and have its own family like its father.
The weather is too hot, and Chongzuo in May has entered the high temperature season as soon as possible. In recent years, it has been the hottest time. The rocky mountains are exposed to the sun, and blazing heat waves are rolling in. Although the mother can adapt, the temperature of the little pomegranate is too high under the little cotton-padded jacket formed by the mother's fur. It needs wind and it needs water. But the mother left the group, and no other monkeys could remind her. The little hands could no longer hold their mother, and the little head hung down feebly. The unknowing mother climbed up the stone wall and left with the little pomegranate in her arms. The little pomegranate in her arms was so endearing: golden hair, small appearance, and even the umbilical cord had not fallen off. With its eyes closed tightly, it was so peaceful that it gave people the illusion that it was asleep... Four days later, the mother finally realized that the tragedy had happened. The whole day, the young mother sat quietly like this, looking at one place with her absent-minded eyes, like a sculpture: not eating or drinking, never leaving, not even noticing the ashes falling on her... Evening , the sad mother sadly left the monkey group with her little pomegranate in her arms. She wants to leave the little pomegranate in a place where we may never find it. At the same time, she also wants to say goodbye to the past...
(5) Protect the white-headed langur
The fact that the white-headed langur is known to the world is a very happy thing for humans, but humans are also very sad. From around the 1980s, the Chinese spent forty years investigating and studying this animal. But there are so few of these animals. The living range of the white-headed langur is only 200 square kilometers. Such land still supports tens of thousands of people. The area suitable for the survival of white-headed langurs is estimated to be 112 square kilometers, and the actual range of white-headed langurs is less restricted by villages, roads, and rivers.
Two surveys in the 1980s and 1990s found only about 600 white-headed langurs. If you are smart, you can calculate. Generally, 8-12 white-headed langurs form a family group. 600 means how many families there are in the white-headed langurs? A small human village basically has between 20 and 100 families. The white-headed langur is nothing more than the most basic village unit of 1-3 humans!
The white-headed langur is so rare that once its uniqueness was discovered, the world began to protect it. It is listed as the highest level in need of protection, and it is a national first-level protected animal in China. Specifically to protect this species, the state has established two related protected areas - the Chongzuo White-headed Langur National Nature Reserve and the Nonggang National Nature Reserve.
However, it is too little. A typhoon blows, and it may lose its brothers and sisters again. But why is it so rare? When humans got to know the white-headed langur from early on, they not only got close to it, but also pointed the butcher knife at it. Since the Tang Dynasty, the skin and flesh of white-headed langurs have been stripped, leaving only the bones. After the bones are steamed, they are mixed into wine, thinking that drinking alcohol can strengthen their health. After the development of medical treatment to this day, these wines have long been proven to be human superstitions, and drinking this kind of wine has no meaning at all. Unfortunately, those dead white-headed langurs can never be revived.
In the past twenty years, humans have invested a lot of energy in protecting it. In order to reduce hunting and protect its living environment, the number of white-headed langurs has recently increased to more than 1,000, which has not exceeded the safe level.
But does this prove that it can still survive on the earth as long as humans are willing to protect it? Will you be able to see them when you have the opportunity to go to Chongzuo?