Yao Hui： I have been ＂scratched＂ and I have been shoulder to shoulder.

The first time I saw Yao Hui was next to a row of houses to be demolished near the Dalongtan Golden Monkey Field Research Base in Shennongjia. In March, Shennongjia was still slightly chilly in a sudden light snow package. Now he is the vice president of the Science Research Institute of Shennongjia National Park Administration. He is holding a mobile phone to shoot a video at the empty house in front of him. He didn’t hear the approach of our group, but he was still immersed in recording the scene in front of him.

After coming to my senses, Yao Hui told the reporter, "This is the house where I lived when I was young. I heard that it was just emptied today and will be demolished soon. I plan to make a video as a souvenir. When I first moved in, it was not like this. It was not as clean and tidy as it is now. It was still a simple house in the 1960s. When I moved in around 2004, I felt the conditions were too bitter. Looking back now, I am still a little reluctant. It carries my youth here, and it is also the day when I first met Sichuan Golden Monkey in Shennongjia. "

From young people who are not used to living in shacks to the steady "chef" of monkey meals.

After much deliberation, Yao Hui posted the video on Tik Tok, bearing his youthful memories. "Because of the early human development and hunting activities, the Sichuan golden monkey in Shennongjia is relatively timid and suspicious, and it is very sensitive to human activities. Basically, it is necessary to keep a distance of two or three kilometers. I bring a telescope for most of the day, and I come back at night to sort out the data records during the day. Several people sleep in a small room, and power outages are commonplace. Because there is no dry food in the mountains every day, I have to prepare the next day’s meal in a simple hut one day in advance, and the days in the mountains pass quickly. " Yao Hui recalled.

The Sichuan golden monkey with upturned nose and blue face in Shennongjia is also known as the blue-faced upturned nose monkey. They are covered with thick multicolored hair, with short heads and ears, naked faces, round and big eyes, black eyelashes, short and swollen snout, thick lips, a tail length significantly longer than the head length, and two flesh-colored round spots on the buttocks, with no hair distribution.

With the passage of time, Yao Hui’s research on Sichuan golden monkey in Shennongjia is getting deeper and deeper. "The birth rate of Sichuan golden monkeys is also divided into different years. For example, there were more than a dozen newborn monkeys in the previous year and only six or seven in the following year. There are many uncertain factors. But the female monkey is still very important during pregnancy. " Yao Hui said, "Every autumn, the wild fruits in Shennongjia Mountain are ripe, and monkeys can collect rich food to supplement their needs at this time. Adult males and females enter the frequent mating period, and females begin to experience pregnancy for more than six months. By March-May of the following year, new baby monkeys are born."

When the reporter stepped into Shennongjia in March, it was still covered with thick snow. From time to time, it snowed a few times. It was more difficult for the golden monkeys to forage in the silent forest snow field than in other seasons.

Just a few years after Yao Hui moved into the hut, the research made a new breakthrough. In 2006, the research team of Shennongjia golden monkey used the wild food of golden monkey as a guide, and based on the investigation data of the past ten years, carried out the research on the artificial supplementary feeding project of golden monkey. Through the implementation of the project, the major problem of partial death of golden monkey due to lack of food in winter was creatively solved for the first time, and a theoretical and technical breakthrough was realized.

"Yes, the probability that many female golden monkeys keep their first child is not high. The main reason may be lack of experience. In addition, Shennongjia can completely melt snow in May, and it is in a state of lack of food during pregnancy. Because it is necessary to protect the golden monkey population, it is very important to solve the lack of food in winter. " Yao Hui said.

Later, Yao Hui became the diligent "chef" of the monkeys, and the rich multi-nutrient meals such as carrots, apples and peanuts became important materials to help golden monkeys survive the food shortage period.

From being "scratched" to sitting side by side

I don’t know whether the name of the chef of monkey meal has long been famous in Dalongtan, or whether Yao Hui has long been familiar with the life habits of the golden monkey in Shennongjia. This afternoon, Yao Hui was able to sit next to two golden monkeys and chat with others, and the picture of people and monkeys coexisting was very harmonious.

The golden monkey is playing on Yao Hui’s back.

"Next to me is a female monkey, sitting in front of this is just a male monkey. Ordinary people can’t stare at the eyes of the female monkey for too long, otherwise the male monkey will stretch his arms and scratch people. " Yao Hui said.

"So you’ve been scratched?" The reporter asked.

"That’s not. One summer, while studying the activities of monkeys, I was accidentally scratched by a monkey, not to mention that the scratch was the same as that of others. After the treatment, my colleagues and friends thought it was scratched by my girlfriend at that time, not to mention how embarrassing it was. A few months have passed, and we really want to have a wedding. I didn’t expect this scar to heal, but the stylist covered my face with thick powder and barely covered it to avoid letting everyone see that I am a groom who is still disfigured. " Yao Hui recalled the past, still a look of distress situation.

I have been with golden monkeys for a long time, and I have become more and more familiar with them. Golden monkeys are typical diurnal arboreal social animals. Most of them eat, drink and sleep in trees, and rarely move in the ground. "They move at sunrise every day, rest at sunset, and have no fixed residence. Because of habitat factors such as the distribution of wild food, they migrate back and forth in a certain area. At night, they choose tall trees on the top of the mountain in units or small groups to sit on the trees and rest." Yao Hui told reporters.

"Later, we named the golden monkeys in different family units for long-term observation records. The number of golden monkeys is increasing, and our observation objects are also increasing. At first, we named them after’ Welcome to the reserve’, which is similar to the mascot of the Beijing Olympic Games. Therefore, the earliest records include monkeys called’ Bao Bao’ and’ Huanhuan’ and’ Yingying’. Later, it was’ Welcome to Dalongtan’, followed by the names of our protection workers such as Dayang and Xiaoyang. Although the average life record of golden monkeys is about 25 years old, the total number of monkeys has gradually increased over the past few decades, and our protection work has achieved results, which is very gratifying. "

From the first two or three kilometers, to a few hundred meters, and then to a few meters, now Yao Hui can sit on the same stone with the female monkey who has a high status in the family of monkeys, and have a peaceful "heart-to-heart talk". In this magical land of Shennongjia, the trust of golden monkeys in people is unprecedented and is still accumulating, all of which stems from Yao Hui and other generations of researchers who have taken root here.

"When I first read the book about the golden monkey, I found it difficult to understand. Now it seems very interesting and worth exploring." Yao Hui said.

Original title: "Yao Hui: Once scratched his face" and once stood shoulder to shoulder "

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