The monkeys were “very sensitive to the presence of people, giving warning signs to one another and fleeing” whenever biologists approached, the group said in a statement.
…an unattractive but annoying…Slow and sullen, and yet dull, they prefer to lead simple lives of pastoral squalor. They don’t like machines more complicated than a garrote, blackjack or a Luger, and they have always been shy of the “Big Folk”, or “Buggers” as they call us.
Though I have a deep and abiding respect for all our wild brethren, and wish nothing but the best for the survival of the Tonkin Snub-Nosed Langur, there’s no avoiding the fact: it’s an ass-ugly monkey.
“Cute” is not a description often used when observing the Tonkin Snub-Nosed Langur in the wild; much more common phrases are “vomitous beyond description,” “possibly undead,” and “Get it the hell away from me.” Seriously, I’ve seen cuter burn victims. I find it hard to believe that even starving Vietnamese would eat that thing if they had absolutely any other alternative. Even Guy Dollman, the naturalist who discovered the animal, formally described it to the Royal Academy as “a F—ing Night-Mare to look upon… I pray that no attempt be made to name this hideous Abomination after me, or as G-d be my witness, I swear that I shall hunt down the cad responsible and send him on to his Reward.”
Nah, that’s a little cutie.
Well, to each their own. De gustibus a simiae non est disputandum. Personally I tend to equate the concept of “cuteness” with a relative paucity of facial gristle.
Well, I’m not saying I’d French-kiss the damned thing. A little hand-holding would not be out of the question, though.
I give you 20 more strange and exotic endangered species.
176-year-old Jonathan the tortoise has been named the world’s oldest-living animal, on the island of St. Helena. What’s especially cool is that here you can see him today and photographed in 1900 with a Boer War prisoner.
Excerpt: “Despite his old age, locals say he still has the energy to regularly mate with the three younger females.” Good ol’ Jonathan. I should be so lucky. 
And now for some animal camouflage.
1000 new jungle species discovered in the Greater Mekong Region over the past decade. We’re just a little hothouse laboratory over here, aren’t we? With all the news of disappearing species, it cheers me to read about this sort of thing.
I just hope they can conserve them.
Fascinating stuff. And the links at the bottom of the second one are well worth a click.
“Cryptozoology” has a bad connotation, but the people going out and finding new species that are attributed to folklore are doing good work and fit the name rather nicely.
You forgot a few:
Little Bush Moa Anomalopteryx didiformis
Upland Moa Megalapteryx didinus
Heavy-Footed Moa Pachyornis elephantopus
Crested Moa P. australis
Mappin’s Moa P. mappini
Eastern Moa Emeus Crassus
Stout-Legged Moa Euryapteryx geranoides
Coastal Moa E. curtus
Slender Bush Moa Dinornis struthoides
Large Bush Moa D. novaezealandiae
Giant Moa D. giganteus
New Zealand Pelican Pelecanus novaezealandiae
New Zealand Swan Cygnus sumnerensis
South Island Goose Cnemiornis calcitrans
North Island Goose Cn. Gracilis
Chatham Island Duck Pachyanas chathamica
Finsch’s Duck Euryanas finschi
Scarlett’s Duck Malacorhynchus scarletti
De Lautour’s Duck Biziura delautouri
Blue-Billed Duck Oxyura australis
Eyles’ Harrier Circus eylesi
Chatham Island Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus australis
New Zealand Eagle Harpagornis moorei
Snipe-Rail Capellirallus karamu
Giant Chatham Island Rail Diaphorapteryx hawkinsi
Hodgen’s Rail Gallinula hodgeni
Yaldwyn’s Wren Pachyplichas yaldwyni
Grant-Mackie’s Wren P. jagmi
New Zealand Coot Fulica chathamensis
Adzebill Aptornis otidiformis
Giant Chatham Island Snipe Coenocorypha chathamica
New Zealand Owlet-Nightjar Aegotheles novaezealandiae
New Zealand Crow Palaeocorax moriorum
North Island Takahe Porphyrio mantelli mantelli
New Zealand Little Bittern Ixobrychus novaezelandiae*
Auckland Island Merganser Mergus australis
Chatham Island Rail Rallus modestus
Laughing Owl Sceloglaux albifacies
Bush Wren Xenicus longpipes
Stephens Island Wren Traversia lyalli
Chatham Island Fernbird Bowdleria rufescens
Huia Heteralocha acutirostris
Piopio Turnagra capensis
New Zealand Quail Coturnix novaezelandiae novaezelandia
Dieffenbach’s Rail Rallus philippensis dieffenbachii
Stewart Island Snipe Coenocorypha aucklandica iredalei
Little Barrier Snipe Coenocorypha aucklandica barrierensis
Chatham Island Bellbird Anthornis melanura melanocephala
South Island Kokako Callaeas cinerea cinerea
It seems those 1000 new species actually number 1068. National Geographic has some good photos of some of them, including the 4-foot Gumprecht’s green pit viper, discovered in northeastern Thailand in 2002. See here. I’m not a big snake fan, but I have to admit that is one gorgeous snake.
It’s a binary thing, like 1K vs 1024.
I don’t see any damn elephants in those 1024.
Not many places a new elephant species could hide. 
A little something on the Samkos bush frog recently discovered in Cambodia. Has green blood and turquoise-colored bones. Cute little bugger.
He looks a bit like the little green tree frog I saw on a water plantain leaf who now graces my PC desktop. 
I read this as “the lolcats finished off the earlier penguin species.”
No, animal news is not odd enough already, so I made it odder. I can has pengy burger?
