Their weight can range from 10 to 40 pounds; generally, the male monkeys are the ones tipping the scales in the upper size range. Like most monkeys, they are very hairy. They are covered in long greyish-brown hair almost everywhere, except around their faces where their reddish-pink skin is exposed in a heart-like shape.
I was really excited to see the famous monkeys of Monkey Mountain. Monkeys have always been some of my favorite animals to see at the zoo, so the idea of catching sight of wild monkeys was incredibly exciting! Plus, it’s only about an hour away from where I live in Chaozhou. The first time I visited was all the way back in September, very early into my stay in Taiwan! Two of my fellow Fulbright friends and I went with a Taiwanese friend, who laughed when he heard how excited we all were to see the monkeys. “You won’t like them so much soon,” he warned us. When we arrived at Shoushan Zoo, the monkeys saw us before we saw them! We had bought some popsicles outside the zoo, but as soon as we entered the grounds, they were immediately snatched out of our hands by a sneaky, speedy monkey. I was so shocked -- it came out of nowhere! And suddenly, here it was, eating my popsicle.
Historically, the macaques have lived all over Taiwan’s forests. However, as more and more humans moved to Taiwan, building cities and towns along the coasts, the monkeys moved inward where the country is the most mountainous and untouched by human presence. Besides Shoushan, some of the best places to see monkeys are Taiwan’s national parks. Those parks have an abundance of greenery for them to enjoy.
