Even when observed from a distance, the bright white "spectacles" of the dusky leaf monkey are still catchy. This is why this small monkey is often referred to as the "spectacled leaf monkey."

The distinctive appearance of this adorable little monkey would probably help make it on the list of the cutest animals in the world. However, it is facing increasing threat from scattered habitats caused by human activity.

Dusky leaf monkeys are native to the Malay Peninsula. They are also found in some parts of Thailand and southern Myanmar. An arboreal animal, it spends almost all of its life on tall trees, feeding on tender leaves as its name suggests.

The body length of a dusky leaf monkey is usually around 40 to 60 centimeters and weighs between 5-9 kilograms. An amazing fact is that with such light weight and small size, it can consume 2 kilograms of food per day.

The newborns are bright orange or yellow with cute little pink faces. Like many other monkeys, their fur turns darker as they grow up. This helps the newborns to attract the attention from grownups within their group, so that they can be better protected or taken care of. In six months, the bright color of the youngsters’ fur will change to darker gray or brown.

There are seven subspecies of the dusky leaf monkey and their fur colors vary from gray to brown or black. A group of dusky leaf monkeys usually consist of up to 12 individuals. Because of their small size they must stick together or they may easily fall prey to snakes and large birds.

(Cover via VCG, designed by CGTN's Li Yueyun.)

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