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Half of all primates face extinction
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Nearly half of all the world�s primates at risk of extinction
James Randerson, science correspondent August 5, 2008
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Nearly half of all primate species could soon become extinct, according to a study carried out by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The study, which used the work of hundreds of scientists and is the most comprehensive analysis for more than a decade, found that the outlook for monkeys, apes and other primates has got much worse. In some regions, the thriving bushmeat trade means the animals are being �eaten to extinction�.
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The 2007 IUCN �red list� has 39% of primate species and sub-species in the three highest threat categories � vulnerable, endangered and critically endangered. In today�s revised list, 303 of the 634 species and sub-species � 48% � are in these most threatened categories.
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The biggest threats faced by primates are the destruction of their habitat through logging, hunting for bushmeat and the illegal wildlife trade. �We�ve raised concerns for years about primates being in danger, but now we have solid data to show the situation is much more serious than we imagined,� said Dr Russell Mittermeier, the chairman of the IUCN Species Survival Commission�s primate specialist group and the president of Conservation International. �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 relatively undamaged. In many places, primates are quite literally being eaten to extinction.�
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The picture in south-east Asia is particularly pessimistic. 71% of all Asian primates are now listed as threatened, and in Vietnam and Cambodia, 90% are considered at risk. Primate populations have fallen due to rapid habitat loss and hunting to satisfy the Chinese medicine and pet trade. �What is happening in south-east Asia is terrifying,� said Dr Jean-Christophe Vi�, the deputy head of the IUCN species programme. �To have a group of animals under such a high level of threat is, quite frankly, not like anything we have ever recorded among any other group of species.�
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In Africa, 11 of 13 kinds of red colobus monkey have been listed as critically endangered or endangered. Two may already be extinct. Overall, 69 species and sub-species (11% of the total) are considered critically endangered, including the mountain gorilla in central Africa. Another 137 species and sub-species (22%) are in the endangered category.
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Species are judged to be in these categories if they have a small population size, are suffering rapid population declines and have a limited geographic range. The apparent jump in the numbers of threatened primates from 39% to 48% has not just happened in the course of one year. The major new analysis has provided missing data that was not available before, according to Michael Hoffman at Conservation International. The last major study was carried out in 1996. �The situation might have been as bad as this five years ago but we just didn�t know. Now we have a much better indication of the state of the world�s primates � and the news is not good,� he said. The review is part of an unprecedented examination of the state of the world�s mammals which will be released at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona in October.
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However, there was some good news for primates. In Brazil, one species, the black lion tamarin, that was almost extinct has now been moved from the critically endangered to endangered category. This is the result of a huge conservation effort which has also benefited the golden lion tamarin � it was downlisted to endangered in 2003. �The work with lion tamarins shows that conserving parts of the forest and reforesting to create corridors that connect them is not only vital for primates, but offers the multiple benefits of maintaining healthy ecosystems and water supplies, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change,� said Dr Anthony Rylands, the deputy chair of the IUCN primate specialist group.
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� Guardian News & Media 2008
First published in The Guardian, 05/08/08
