Although there are some reports that have described primates eating animals, it is unknown whether predation on vertebrates exists in herbivorous leaf-eating primates. We have witnessed firsthand wild Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) preying on and consuming Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus meruld) in the Qinling Mountains of China. This event suggests that R. roxellana, which has previously been described as a herbivorous leaf-eating primate, may be partially carnivorous and the correct classification of this species would be omnivorous. Furthermore, food-share behavior among higher-ranked members occurs in a one-male unit when vertebrate prey is hunted by this species.
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