Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, mainly distributed in mountainous forests in Tibet's Mangkam County, as well as neighboring Yunnan province's Deqin County, is one of the most endangered primate species in the world and now the total number of the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey living in China is estimated to be more than 2,000.

The number of the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region has increased from 50 in the 1990s to the present 700, local forestry authorities said Monday.

The Mangkam County nature reserve established 20 years ago has been the habitat paradise for Yunnan snub-nosed monkey.

The data of the Forestry Bureau shows, in the 1960s and 1970s there were more than 2000 snub-nosed monkeys in Mangkam County of Tibet. However, the number dropped to 50 or so caused by the unbridled hunting. Besides, the existing snub-nosed monkey populations are isolated each other against the reproduction of monkeys.

"Since the foundation of the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey nature reserve in Mangkam County, we have taken a series of protective measures and conducted propagandas among local people. Therefore, the number of the snub-nosed monkey increases every year and it achieves more than 700 at present. And along with the perfection of the protective measures, the number is expected to exceed 1,000 in the future." said Rinchen Puncog, the director of the Forestry Bureau of Mangkam County.

Mangkam County, in the southeast of Tibet, lies in the border of the Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet. In 1986, the Mangkam County nature reserve was established. In 2003, the State Council approved to establish the national Mangkam County Yunnan snub-nosed monkey nature reserve.