Extinction plight of world’s rarest primates revealed
Almost half of all primate species are at risk of extinction with several reduced to barely a few dozen surviving animals, according to a new conservation report.
Experts fear there could be as few as 60 golden headed langurs left on the Vietnamese island of Cat Ba while the populations of eastern black crested gibbons, also in Vietnam, and the Madagascan northern sportive lemurs may also number barely 100 animals.
The list of the 25 most endangered primates, compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, blames the destruction of tropical forests, the illegal wildlife trade and bushmeat hunting for the creatures’ plight. Five of the species are native to Madagascar, six to Africa, 11 to Asia and three to Central and South America.
While the list of 25 is intended to raise awareness about the animals most at risk, 48 percent of the world’s 634 primate species are listed as threatened with extinction on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
“This report makes for very alarming reading and it underlines the extent of the danger facing many of the world’s primates,” says report editor Christoph Schwitzer. “Support and action to help save these species is vital if we are to avoid losing these wonderful animals forever.”
The report also says that conservation efforts can help species pull back from the brink. On the latest red list, the black lion tamarin was downgraded from critically endangered to endangered following a three-decade initiative to protect the creatures in their native Brazil.
But Russell Mittermeier of the IUCN said national governments needed to dedicate more resources to conservation efforts and urged them to agree urgent action at October’s international biodiversity conference in Japan.
“The purpose of our Top 25 list is to highlight those that are most at risk, to attract the attention of the public, to stimulate national governments to do more, and especially to find the resources to implement desperately-needed conservation measures,” said Mittermeier.
“We have the resources to address this crisis, but so far, we have failed to act.”
The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates
Madagascar
Greater Bamboo Lemur
Gray-headed Lemur
Sclater’s Black Lemur/Blue-Eyed Black Lemur
Northern sportive lemur
Silky Sifaka
Africa
Rondo Dwarf Galago
Roloway Guenon
Tana River Red Colobus
Niger Delta Red Colobus Monkey
Kipunji Rungwecebus kipunji
Cross River Gorilla
Asia
Siau Island Tarsier
Javan Slow Loris
Simakobu or Pig-Tailed Snub-Nose Langur
Delacour’s Langur
Golden-headed Langur or Cat Ba Langur
Western Purple-faced Langur
Grey-shanked Douc Monkey
Tonkin Snub-nosed Monkey
Eastern Black Crested Gibbon
Western Hoolock Gibbon
Sumatran Orangutan
Central and South America
Cotton-top Tamarin
Variegated or Brown Spider Monkey
Peruvian Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey