Folded up into a fur-ball, this youngster is warming its extremities in between bouts of play and feeding.
He is part of a band of about 70 or so Qinling golden snub-nosed monkeys living high up in China's Qinling Mountains, surviving on lichen, leaves, bark and buds. 'If mother is not around to cuddle up to, then sitting like this is the best way to keep warm in the extreme winter cold,' says Cyril. Sitting apart from its mother also makes such a little monkey vulnerable to attack by goshawks or golden eagles. The species is endangered, and this subspecies probably numbers no more than about 4,000. The total population of all races of golden snub-nosed monkeys is only 8,000-20,000.
France
Cyril has been a professional photographer for 20 years. His first encounter with the Borneo orang-utan influenced him to give pride of place to primates in his work. He now also focuses on amphibians such as frogs jumping on snow in the Alps, giant salamanders in Japan and goliath frogs in Cameroon. He also enjoys working on wildlife around his home, trying to make exotic, very common species.
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