Growing awareness

Long's expeditions were also often joined by special guides — hunters from local villages.

"Wherever I went, the first thing I did was find the best local hunters. They were excellent climbers and had detailed knowledge of the area's geography and fauna," Long said.

The local residents used to live off the mountains. They chopped down trees for firewood and building materials, and hunted wild animals, including the snub-nosed monkeys, for their meat and fur.

Large-scale commercial logging led to the shrinking and fragmentation of the monkeys' habitat, while hunting added to the challenges they faced.

"The hunters were not absolute villains. A lack of environmental and wildlife protection awareness meant that most of them were unaware that their way of life was destructive to nature," Long said.

"Once, I told a hunter that Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys only lived in his home area, and he was super surprised."

Over the years, Long made the acquaintance of 30 to 40 hunters, and they are all now employed as forest protectors.

Yu Jianhua, a 70-year-old former hunter in Xiangguqing, has worked at the reserve for 26 years. His hunting career, which began in his teens, ended in 1997 after the local government persuaded him to use his skills and knowledge to protect the endangered monkeys.

"Although I was a hunter, I actually quite like animals and nature. When I learned that the monkeys were an endangered species, I became their protector," he said.

"The deteriorating natural environment had already affected my hunting business. I was worried that one day all the trees would be gone and the monkeys and other animals would no longer exist in the village."