Chimps, other primates on verge of mass extinction

Turns out, chimps, orangutans, lemurs, and other cuddle primates are in a serious peril. According to a joint study conducted by the German Primate Center and Deutsches Primatenzentrum (DPZ), many of our closest relatives are under serious threat, as the human population spread to all corners of the earth. Lemurs, lorises, galagos, tarsiers, monkeys and apes are our closest biological relatives and just like them, humans are also primates.

An international team of leading primate researchers, including Christian Roos, has analysed and evaluated the situation of many endangered non-human primate species in Brazil, Madagascar, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In their study, the researchers investigated the influence of human activities on wild primate populations. The destruction of natural forests and their conversion into agricultural land, threatens many species who thereby lose their habitat.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) currently lists 439 species. Around 60 percent of them are threatened by extinction. Particularly dire is the situation in Indonesia and Madagascar, where 90 percent of primate population declined and more than three-quarters of species are endangered. The destruction of the natural environment through deforestation, the expansion of agricultural land and infrastructure development to transport goods has become a major problem,” said Christian Roos, the coauthor of the study.