Okwudiri Straightman Nwali

Look, it's snowing! Precious moment a baby golden monkey is absolutely stunned by white-out in Chinese nature reserve

• Rare cute monkeys stare around themselves at the snowfall at their research reserve in Shennongjia, central China
• Golden monkeys live in groups of between 30-80 individuals led by one male and can survive freezing conditions
• The quantity of the endangered monkeys has doubled since the 1980s because of better environmental protection

An infant golden monkey gawps in incredulity as it looks around at the heavy snowfall which happened over night at the reserve it resides in, leaving the whole area blanketed in a gorgeous cold white frosting today.

The family of monkeys at the Dalongtan Golden Monkey Research Center in Shennongjia, in central China's Hubei Province, played and jumped around happily as they got acclimatised to the freezing conditions, kicking the powdery snow about with their feet, reported thePeople's Daily Online.

Golden monkeys live in groups of between 30-80 individuals, usually led by one adult male, shown here leading the pack as they stroll.

The famous Shennongjia Nature Reserve is home to the rare golden monkeys, which have lived for many years on the verge of extinction since they were first spotted in Shennongjia in the 1960s.

The amount of golden monkeys in Shennongjia has doubled since the 1980s because of better environmental protection.

According to the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP), golden monkeys live for up to 19 years and eat bamboo and fruit.

Human traps, snares and stings were thought to have killed off the majority of the golden monkey population during the 20th century.  

A lucky photographer caught this baby golden monkey gazing amazement at the surrounding blanket of snow as it sits in its mother's arms

The monkeys at  Dalongtan Golden Monkey Research Center in Shennongjia, in central China's Hubei Province, played happily in the snow

According to the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP), golden monkeys live for up to 19 years and eat bamboo and fruit

Golden monkeys live in groups of between 30-80 individuals, usually led by one adult male, leading the pack as they stroll and climb

Golden monkeys have unfortunately lived for many years on the verge of extinction and were first spotted in Shennongjia in the 1960

The amount of golden monkeys in Shennongjia right now has doubled since the 1980s because of better environmental protection

Human traps and snares were thought to have killed off the majority of the golden monkey population during the 20th century

This monkey looks at the snow falling from the trees onto its hands as it tries to work out what has happened to its home overnight

The snow wasn't popular with every monkey - the monkey on the right looks particularly moody at the change as its gang strolls around