China's endangered black snub-nose monkeys will be electronically tagged as part of a program to better protect the rare and endangered creature.

The high-tech protection program, jointly sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Nature Conservancy of the United States, is being implemented at Mount Laojun in the Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County of Yunnan.

Under it, several wild monkeys will be collared with GPS (global positioning system) devices, which emit digital signals that scientists can pick up through wireless Internet surfing. Once located, the monkeys' behavior and movements, including the size of their groups will be recorded and analyzed.

This is the first time for China to use a high-tech approach to help with ecological research and the conservation of rare wild animals.

Less than 1,500 black snub-nose monkeys remain in the wild, living in the primeval forests, high mountains and deep canyons of Yunnan Province and the Tibet Autonomous Region.

"Traditional observation methods make it difficult to collect enough information about the habits of the monkeys," said Long Yongcheng, a zoologist specializing in research on creature.

(China Daily July 7, 2005)