Over 50% the world’s primates, which includes monkeys, lemurs and apes are faced with extinction, international professionals warned last Tuesday.
This population crunch includes the consequence of massive scale habitat destruction – especially the clearing and burning of forests – and hunting of primates for food, as well as illegal wildlife trade.
The species that were long known to be at risk, which includes Sumatran orangutan, were joined upon the most endangered listing for the initial time by Philippine tarsier as well as, from Madagascar, the Lavasoa dwarf lemur, researchers that met in Singapore stated.
According to director of conservation at Britain’s Bristol Zoological Society and leading primatologist, Christoph Schwitzer, ‘These studies highlight the extent of the danger that faces most of the globe’s primates.’
It’ll include Lavasoa dwarf lemur – species just found 2 years before – as well as Roloway monkey from Ivory Coast and Ghana that, according to experts, ‘are on the brink of extinction’.
According to the statement, ‘In the world, there will include 703 primate sub-species and species. Vietnam and Madagascar house the massive figures of extremely threatened species.’
The statement added that red colobus monkey, in Africa, was underneath specific risk, as were a few of South America’s spider monkeys and howler monkeys. The statement also mentioned that ‘All those species are conspicuous and fairly large, making them primary targets for bush meat hunting.
Chair of the species survival commission of the IUCN, Russell Mittermeier, stated he hoped this report might urge governments to dedicate to ‘desperately necessary measures for biodiversity conservation’.