Global News - October 2007

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A third of primates face extinction

Fri 26 October 2007 15:15 UK — Primates

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Nearly a third of all primate species on Earth are at risk of extinction as a result of increased habitat destruction, illegal wildlife trading and commercial bushmeat hunting, a new report has warned.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) found that 29 per cent of all primate species on the planet face the risk of extinction.

A report, entitled Primates in Peril: The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates, pointed out that 114 of the world's 394 primate species are classified as threatened on the IUCN Red List and added that failure to address issues raised by climate change could mean at least one species will become extinct in the coming years.

Some of the primates identified by the report as being at particular risk include the greater bamboo and white-collared lemurs from Madagascar, the cross river gorilla of west Africa, the Rondo dwarf galago from Tanzania and the variegated spider monkey from Colombia and Venezuela.

"You could fit all the surviving members of these 25 species in a single football stadium; that's how few of them remain on Earth today," commented Russell A Mittermeier, chair of the IUCN's Primate Specialist Group.

"The situation is worst in Asia, where tropical forest destruction and the hunting and trading of monkeys puts many species at terrible risk. Even newly discovered species are severely threatened from loss of habitat and could soon disappear."

The report concludes that protecting forest habitats is vital if these species are to survive.

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