World's most endangered primates revealed

IUCN 18 Feb 10;

Mankind’s closest living relatives – the world’s apes, monkeys, lemurs and other primates – are on the brink of extinction and in need of urgent conservation measures according to Primates in Peril: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates, 2008–2010.

The report, compiled by 85 experts from across the world, reveals that nearly half of all primate species are now in danger of becoming extinct from destruction of tropical forests, illegal wildlife trade and commercial bushmeat hunting. The list includes five primate species from Madagascar, six from Africa, 11 from Asia, and three from Central and South America, all of which are the most in need of urgent conservation action.

Conservationists want to highlight the plight of species such as the golden headed langur (Trachypithecus p. poliocephalus), which is found only on the island of Cat Ba in the Gulf of Tonkin, north-eastern Vietnam, where just 60 to 70 individuals remain. Similarly, there are thought to be less than 100 individual northern sportive lemurs (Lepilemur septentrionalis) left in Madagascar, and around 110 eastern black crested gibbons (Nomascus nasutus) in northeastern Vietnam.

The list has been drawn up by primatologists working in the field who have first-hand knowledge of the causes of threats to primates.

“This report makes for very alarming reading and it underlines the extent of the danger facing many of the world’s primates,” says report editor Dr Schwitzer, advisor to the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group and Head of Research at the Bristol Conservation and Science Foundation. “We hope it will be effective in drawing attention to the plight of each of the 25 species included. Support and action to help save these species is vital if we are to avoid losing these wonderful animals forever.”

Almost half (48 percent) of the world’s 634 primate species are classified as threatened with extinction on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. The main threats are habitat destruction, particularly from the burning and clearing of tropical forests (which results in the release of around 16 percent of the global greenhouse gases causing climate change), the hunting of primates for food, and the illegal wildlife trade.

“The results from the most recent IUCN assessment of the world’s mammals indicate that primates are among the most endangered vertebrate groups,” says Dr Russell Mittermeier, Chair of the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group and President of Conservation International. “The purpose of our Top 25 list is to highlight those that are most at risk, to attract the attention of the public, to stimulate national governments to do more, and especially to find the resources to implement desperately needed conservation measures. We want governments to commit to desperately needed biodiversity conservation measures when they gather in Japan in October. We have the resources to address this crisis, but so far, we have failed to act.”

Despite the gloomy assessment, conservationists point to the success in helping targeted species recover. In Brazil, the black lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysopygus) was down listed to Endangered from Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as was the golden lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia) in 2003, as a result of three decades of conservation efforts involving numerous institutions, many of which were zoos. Populations of both animals are now well-protected but remain very small, indicating an urgent need for reforestation to provide new habitat for their long-term survival.



Notes to Editors

Primates in Peril: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates, 2008–2010 has been compiled by the Primate Specialist Group of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission (SSC) and the International Primatological Society (IPS), in collaboration with Conservation International (CI).


The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates: 2008–2010, by region:

Madagascar
Greater Bamboo Lemur Prolemur simus
Gray-headed Lemur Eulemur cinereiceps
Sclater’s Black Lemur, Blue-Eyed Black Lemur Eulemur flavifrons
Northern sportive lemur Lepilemur septentrionalis
Silky Sifaka Propithecus candidus

Africa
Rondo Dwarf Galago Galagoides rondoensis
Roloway Guenon Cercopithecus diana roloway
Tana River Red Colobus Procolobus rufomitratus
Niger Delta Red Colobus Monkey Procolobus epieni
Kipunji Rungwecebus kipunji
Cross River Gorilla Gorilla gorilla diehli

Asia
Siau Island Tarsier Tarsius tumpara
Javan Slow Loris Nycticebus javanicus
Simakobu or Pig-Tailed Snub-Nose Langur Simias concolor
Delacour’s Langur Trachypithecus delacouri
Golden-headed Langur or Cat Ba Langur Trachypithecus p. poliocephalus
Western Purple-faced Langur Trachypithecus (Semnopithecus) vetulus nestor
Grey-shanked Douc Monkey Pygathrix cinerea
Tonkin Snub-nosed Monkey Rhinopithecus avunculus
Eastern Black Crested Gibbon Nomascus nasutus
Western Hoolock Gibbon Hoolock hoolock
Sumatran Orangutan Pongo abelii

Central and South America
Cotton-top Tamarin Saguinus oedipus
Variegated or Brown Spider Monkey Ateles hybridus
Peruvian Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey Oreonax flavicauda

Full report available at: www.conservation.org/2010primates

Dozens of primate species on the brink: study
Marlowe Hood Yahoo News 17 Feb 10;

PARIS (AFP) – 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.

That percentage has risen quickly -- only three years ago the IUCN put the ratio of vulnerable primates at one third.

"Primates are among the most endangered of all vertebrate groups," said Russell Mittermeier, head of the IUCN's primate specialist group.

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.

Two other species hover in number at around 100: the northern sportive lemur of Madagascar, and the eastern black crested gibbon of northern Vietnam.

Human encroachment has reduced the population of cross river gorillas, found in the mountains along the Cameroon-Nigeria border, to less than 300.

The most threatened species are not always the rarest, experts point out.

How well governments protect dwindling animal populations against deforestation and hunting is at least as critical.

More than 6,000 Sumatran orangutans, 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.

By contrast, the Hainan gibbon -- named for the Chinese island where they are found -- "is actually the world's rarest primate," said Simon Stuart, head of the IUCN's Species Survival Commission.

"But the Chinese government has some very strict conservation measures, so it is not on the list because there is not much more that can be done," he said in a phone interview.

Even so, he added, "it is one thing to stop a species from going extinct, and it is another thing to talk about recovery."

Globally, habitat destruction, especially through the burning and clearing of tropical forests for agriculture, has been the main driver toward extinction.

But 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.

"It comes out again and again from all our studies, tropical Asia is by far the worst place to be for any animal bigger than a rabbit," said Stuart.

The situation in Vietnam and Laos, he added, is "particularly desperate."

Researchers hope the 'top 25' list will garner public and government support for urgently needed conservation measures, especially ahead of the next meeting of the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity, set for October in Nagoya, Japan.

"We have the resources to address this crisis, but so far, we have failed to act," said Mittermeier.