New primate threatened by old problems

Reseachers warn that the animals are faced with a number of long-standing natural challenges

The recent discovery of a previously unrecognized species of macaque in the Tibet autonomous region is based on 738 photos mainly taken by camera traps in bio-diverse, yet poorly studied, forests in the southeast of the Tibet autonomous region. The three scientists who discovered it have named it the white-cheeked macaque.

"Our photos clearly showed some morphological differences between the white-cheeked macaque and other known species and allowed us to claim it as a new species," said Fan Pengfei, one of the corresponding authors and a primatologist at Dali University in Yunnan province.