January 20, 2017

Primates threatened with extinction

Tree Hugger - A report in the journal Science Advances  – the most comprehensive review of primate populations so far – says that 60 percent of primate species are currently threatened with extinction and some 75 percent have declining populations.

"This truly is the eleventh hour for many of these creatures," says Paul Garber, an anthropology professor from the University of Illinois, who co-led the study with Alejandro Estrada of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

"Several species of lemurs, monkeys and apes – such as the ring-tailed lemur, Udzunga red colobus monkey, Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, white-headed langur and Grauer's gorilla – are down to a population of a few thousand individuals. In the case of the Hainan gibbon, a species of ape in China, there are fewer than 30 animals left."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The post is remiss in excluding from the list homo sapiens.
Given its lethal potential, dare we say speaking of an eleventh hour as optimistic? Is not a minute or so before midnight closer to the mark?

Greg Gerritt said...

The destruction of forests may bethe stupidest thing humans have ever done tothe planet, and is an action very likely to come back to bite us.