Dozens of Primates Face Extinction: BIG PIC
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Feb. 18, 2010 -- Seldom seen species of lemur, monkey and gorilla are among 25 primates facing near-certain extinction unless urgent measures are taken to protect them, according to a report released Thursday.
All told, close to half of the planet's 634 known primate species are to some degree threatened with dying out, said the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and other conservation and research groups.
Of the top 25, five are on the island of Madagascar, six on the African continent, three in South America and 11 in Southeast Asia.
The least likely to survive might well be the golden-headed langur of Vietnam, found exclusively on the island of Cat Ba in the Gulf of Tonkin. Only 60 to 70 individuals remain.
Human encroachment has reduced the population of cross river gorillas, found in the mountains along the Cameroon-Nigeria border, to less than 300.
How well governments protect dwindling animal populations against deforestation and hunting is at least as critical.
More than 6,000 Sumatran orangutans, shown above, for example, are thought to survive on Indonesia's largest island. But poor enforcement of conservation measures has led to plummeting numbers and an unenviable place on the list of most critically endangered primates.
Globally, habitat destruction, especially through the burning and clearing of tropical forests for agriculture, has been the main driver toward extinction. In Southeast Asia, hunting for food and traditional medicines made from animal parts -- fueled by an illegal trade in wildlife -- is an even greater threat.
Source: Marlowe Hood, AFP
Photo credit: Getty Images
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