The primates are our closest relatives in the animal kingdom – there are over 500 types of them worldwide. The World Natural Conservation IUCN has now published a list of 25 most threatened apes, monkeys, lemurs, makis and co. The list includes types from Asia, Africa, Madagascar and the New World. Among them are also the smallest primacy in the world and the Tapanuli orangutan. He is considered the most threatened ape.
More and more animal and plant species die on earth. Above all, the reasons for this are climate change and the destruction of habitats by humans, for example through hunting or deforestation. The primates have long been affected – the animal group, which we humans also belong to. In addition to us and our closest relatives, the great apes, lemurs, loris, makis and monkeys are also part of it. In order to draw attention to the risk of this group of animals, an expert group of members of the International Nature Conservation Union (IUCN), Conservation International (CI) and the International Primatological Society (IPS) publishes a list of the most threatened primate species every two years.
Most of the endangered species live in Asia
With the list, the primate researchers want to draw attention to the necessary protection of the listed primates. “Every type of primate we lose not only means an irretrievable loss for nature, but also for us humans,” says Roos. “Because primates are not only fascinating animals – they are also key species of our ecosystems.” If a so -called key species dies, no other way is able to occupy your ecological niche, and the corresponding ecosystem is changing significantly. Then other species that depends on it could also die out.
The current list now published shows: of the 25 primate species that are currently classified as particularly threatened come from Asia, six from Africa, six from the new world and four from Madagascar. “The situation is dramatic,” says Christian Roos from the German Primate Center. “If we don’t act now, we will lose some of these species forever. But there is hope – when science, politics and society become active together.” Above all, destruction of habitats, hunting, climate change and illegal trade in the monkeys are the greatest threat to them.
Tapanuli orang -utan most affected
One of the nine primate species listed for Asia is considered to be the strongest endangered primacy worldwide. The Tapanuli Orang-Utan (Pongo Tapanuliensis) lives on the island of Sumatra and was only discovered in 2017 by researchers from the German Primate Center. Not only his skull shape and his teeth distinguish this ape from other orangutans-his genes are also different. Today, only about 767 of these primates could live in Sumatra, Serge appreciated the Liverpool John Moores University and his team.
“Due to the strong conversion and fragmentation of habitats as well as illegal hunting and poaching, the Tapanuli orang-Utan has suffered a strong decline in existence in the past 150 years,” explain the researchers. According to their analyzes, today’s distribution area of this orangutan species only includes 2.5 percent of the area of its distribution area at the end of the 19th century. In addition, the Tapanuli orangutans are planting comparatively slowly: after their first offspring, females only get another boy after about eight years. Mining work of a gold and silver mine is currently threatening the remaining distribution area of the primate. In addition, a dam could continue to fragment the monkey’s habitat.
Even the smallest primacy is threatened with extinction
For Madagascar, only lemurs are on the list of 25 most threatened primate species. One of them is Madame Berthe’s Mausmaki (Microcebus Berthae). It is considered the smallest primacy in the world and weighs only 30 grams. The tiny lemur has special food and habitat claims and only occurs in a small area in Madagascar. In addition, the areas he lived in are dismembered and agriculture and the associated forest loss threaten the existence of Madame Berthe’s Mausmaki. “This species has also disappeared from most of the remaining intact forests, which indicates frightening consequences for possible protective measures,” explains Peter Kappeler, from Georg-August University Göttingen. “This could be the first primacy that we lose forever in the 21st century, since there are no imprisonment populations.”
Source: German Primate Center Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, specialist articles: Primates in Peril: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates 2023-2025 (PDF).