“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.” Jean-Christophe Vié, Deputy Head of the IUCN Species Programme

Monkeys, apes and other primates – Mankind’s closest relatives are disappearing from the face of the Earth. Habitat destruction, through the burning and clearing of tropical rainforests is a major threat to primates, as recently reported to attendees of the 22nd International Primatological Society Congress in Edinburgh. Other threats include hunting of primates for food and the illegal wildlife trade.

Non-human primates have a key role to play in the health of their surrounding eco-systems. Through the dispersal of seeds and other interaction with their home environment, primates support a wide range of animal and plant life in tropical forests. Therefore, while habitat destruction threatens primates very existence, addressing the issue of hunting of primates is equally as important.

The findings presented to the congress are part of a wider review of the state of the world’s mammals, whichwill be presented to the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona this October. The review has been funded by Conservation International, the Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and the IUCN. Hundreds of experts worldwide have contributed to the review providing clear scientific evidence as to the importance of addressing these concerns now.

In Africa 11 of the 13 kinds of red colobus monkeys assessed were listed as Critically Endangered or Endangered. Two may already be extinct. While the plight of gorillas and bonobos, both or which are deeply threatened, tend to capture the most attention – it is the smaller primates, like the red colobus, which could become extinct first.

Click here to read the full article on the IUCN website.

For further information on the 4th IUCN World Conservation Congress visit their webpage.