Chinanews, Guangzhou, Oct 9 – Recently, the China Science Association held its annual forum in Wuhan. During the forum, Professor Liao Mingrao from the Hubei Shennongjia Nature Reserve Management Bureau delivered a report to refute the traditional view that golden monkeys did not exist in Shennongjia. The professor not only rebutted this idea, but further proposed that golden monkeys could be fed in winter season. His new ideas created a significant stir in the world of science, the Information Daily reported.In China, the golden monkey is also called the Sichuan golden monkey. Its latin name is Rhinopithecus roxellanae and it belongs to the Cercopithecidae family. In China, most of the golden monkeys live in Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu and Hubei provinces. The golden monkeys are covered with golden color hair and are considered as a species peculiar to China. Its body usually measures 53-77 centimeters long and its tail can be as long as its body.The golden monkeys living in Shennongjia are considered as endangered primates. And Shennongjia is in the east end of the golden monkeys-inhabited region in China. The animal is included in the state's CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) catalogue and is forbidden to be traded. The golden monkeys in Shennongjia are the only subspecies of monkeys living in Hubei. Most scholars agree that it is an independent subspecies of the Sichuan golden monkeys. Genetic diversity tests show that it has a lot of unique features compared with the golden monkey groups living in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi. Thus, it has a lot of scientific significance to protect the golden monkeys in Shennongjia.When Shennongjia nature reserve was first established, there were about 500 golden monkeys living there. At present, the number of golden monkeys in Shennongjia has increased to more than 1,200. Despite this, the population of golden monkeys in Shennongjia is still considered as small and the animal is still viewed as an endangered species.