Primates 'facing extinction'

Almost half of the earth’s primates are in danger of becoming extinct, experts have warned.

The threat facing monkeys, apes and other primates is far more serious than previously thought, the review from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has revealed.

More than 70% of Asia’s primates could disappear in the near future, and worldwide, 50% of the 634 kinds of primates are under threat.

The bleak prognosis is a result of the burning and clearing of tropical forests, a practice which also emits at least 20% of the world’s greenhouses gases. However the IUCN has also warned some primates are being illegally hunted for their meat, traditional Chinese medicine or for pets.

Russell A. Mittermeier, chairman of the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Primate Specialist Group and the president of Conservation International (CI), said:

“We’ve raised concerns for years about primates being in peril, but now we have solid data to show the situation is far more severe than we imagined.”

“Tropical forest destruction has always been the main cause, but now it appears that hunting is just as serious a threat in some areas, even where the habitat is still quite intact. In many places, primates are quite literally being eaten to extinction.”

In both Vietnam and Cambodia, approximately 90% of primate species are considered at risk of extinction.

Jean-Christophe Vié, deputy head of the IUCN Species Programme, commented: “What is happening in Southeast Asia is terrifying.

“To have a group of animals under such a high level of threat is, quite frankly, unlike anything we have recorded among any other group of species to date.”

The report did reveal some good news as well however, as some species are making a recovery. In Brazil, the black lion tamarin was downlisted to Endangered from Critically Endangered, as was the golden lion tamarin in 2003, as a result of three decades of conservation efforts.