Primates 'at risk of extinction'

we may be the next  to follow them!

I also read that many are facing extinction because people are eating them. I can't say I could ever bring myself to eat a primate, but I'm not used to it so maybe that's why.

Nothing like a good barbqued monkey! Hummm good!

This was taken in Dublin Zoo

Helen Quinn has contributed a photo to this story.

i'd like it if my children are able to know what a gorilla looks like in person.

emptychairs has contributed a photo to this story.

A grooming session at the Monkey Jungle in Bristol Zoo, UK.

DoktorChaos has contributed a photo to this story.

It's a just cause.

Joanot has contributed a photo to this story.

The little monkey in the picture was watching people eating a packet of chips and was gently hinting that he also wanted some. He didnt get his way this time, but i'm pretty sure he does most of the time.

Good story, good cause!

smac.pic has contributed a photo to this story.

Es un placer contribuir con mi foto a esta causa tan honorable y digna.
Un saludo.

elyoshimura has contributed a photo to this story.

Kruger National Park, South Africa

meerkat woman has contributed a photo to this story.

adoption photo of Rodders from monkey world 2008-2009

Rodders is a male chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) who was born at the park on 03/08/05. His mother, Jess did not always take her birth control pill so we started giving her birth control injections. Rodders was conceived the week the injections began! Jess cleaned the baby but then left him and walked away. Our Primate Care Staff cared for Rodders and Ash for their first year, but they are now being looked after by Sally in the chimpanzee nursery.

Hsaio-ningandRodders has contributed a photo to this story.

Our world will be in a sad state if we lose primates or any other animals for that matter.  It's nice to see how many people are actually aware of what's going on with wildlife and how deforestation and the bush meat/poaching trades are dramatically changing the wildlife population.  Fantastic and touching article!  (my photo was taken at the Bronx Zoo in New York. 

This male silverback gorilla is from the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha.

jdmcfish has contributed a photo to this story.

The photo was taken by Richard Lindstrom in the Amazon rainforest of NE Peru at an Explorama lodge downriver from the city of Iquitos. We think it's a Saddle-backed Tamarin (Saguinus fuscicollis).

Hesperia2007 has contributed a photo to this story.

Gibbon photo taken at Binder Park Zoo, Battle Creek, Mich.

She was just hanging out, watching the big dumb primates.

Mark Wedel has contributed a photo to this story.

According to Wikipedia, Spider monkeys are New World monkeys of the family Atelidae, subfamily Atelinae. Found in tropical forests from southern Mexico to Brazil, spider monkeys belong to the genus Ateles; the closely related woolly spider monkeys, are in the genus Brachyteles.

As they require large tracts of undisturbed forest and specialize on ripe fruits, spider monkeys may be considered an indicator species; the monkeys are threatened by habitat destruction through continued growth in South American agriculture (it actually should say tropical America, since these species are found from Mexico to Peru and Brazil)

A recent comparative intelligence comparison gives spider monkeys a value a little above gorillas, so it is reasonable to believe that spider monkeys are among the most intelligent New World monkeys.

Spider monkeys form loose groups of 15-25 individuals. During the day, groups break up into subgroups of 2-8 individuals. This social structure ('fission-fusion') is found in only one other primate species, the Chimpanzee. The size of subgroups and the degree to which they avoid each other during the day depends on food competition and the risk of predation. Also less common in primates, females rather than males disperse at puberty to join new groups. Males tend to stick together for their whole life. Hence males in a group are more likely to be related and have closer bonds than females. The strongest social bonds are formed between females and young offspring.

Spider monkeys communicate their intentions and observations using postures and stances, such as postures of sexual receptivity and of attack. When a spider monkey sees a human approaching, it barks loudly similar to a small dog. When a monkey is approached, it climbs to the end of the branch it is on and shakes it vigorously to scare away the possible threat. It shakes the branches with its feet, hands, or a combination while hanging from its tail. It may also scratch its limbs or body with various parts of its hands and feet. Seated monkeys may sway and make noise. Males and occasionally adult females growl menacingly at the approach of a human. If the pursuer continues to advance, the monkeys often break off live or dead tree limb weighing up to 10 pounds and drop them towards the intruder. They do not actually throw the branches but they twist so the branch causing it to fall closer to the threat.[clarify] The natives of the area know very well of this risk. The monkeys also defecate and urinate toward the intruder.[5]

Spider monkeys are diurnal and spend the night sleeping in carefully selected trees. Groups are thought to be directed by a lead female who is responsible for planning an efficient feeding route each day. Grooming is not as important to social interaction, due perhaps to a lack of thumbs.

At 107 grams, the spider monkey brain is twice the size of a howler monkey's of equivalent body size; this is thought to be a result of the spider monkeys' complex social system and their frugivorous diet, which consists primarily of ripe fruit from a wide variety (over 150 species) of plants and thus requires the monkeys to remember when and where fruit can be found. The slow development may also play a role: the monkeys may live 20 years or more, and females give birth once every 3-4 years.

Since these monkeys are specialized forest dwellers and fruit eaters, they find themselves on the verge of extinction. This picture was taken in Auto Safari Chapin, a mix of zoo and natural reserve located in south eastern Guatemala, in the department of Taxisco.

PAL1970 has contributed a photo to this story.

Hi! Mr. Keating' i like this report is very alarming... ands thanks for sharing it...

I've here a copy of report that's Asia has the greatest proportion of threatend primates, with 71 percent considered at risk of extinction. The five nations with the highest percentage of endangered species are Cambodia (90%), Vietnam (86%), Indonesia (84%), and China (79%). Why? Because of habitat destruction, through the burning and clearing of tropical forests, hunting of primates for food and illegal wildlife trade, the wildlife trade believed it's uses in traditional medicine, among other reasons.

Out of 634 recognized species and subspecies listed, 11 percent are critically endangered, while further 15 percent are listed as vulnerable, this is the latest report of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Marami pong salamat!!!

danesller

I met this orang outang with cerebral palsy at Parrot Jungle, Miami, in December 2001 (before they moved to their new site).

leamael has contributed a photo to this story.

Thank you to everyone who contributed a photo to this story. I hope we can save these animals before it's too late.

La verdad que este macaco estaba en el Parque de la Naturaleza de Cabárceno, en Cantábria. Estaba junto a otro grupo de macanos que se estaban alimentando de lo que la gente les daba. Estaban sueltos dentro del parque y eran muy simpáticos. De repente apareció esta junto a su hijo. Se sentó en un tronco y esperó tranquílamente que le dieran "su comida". Estaba muy confiada y no creo que fuera la primera vez que esto pasaba, así que esperó a que TODOS los que estábamos por allí nos dieramos cuenta y empezáramos una sesión fotográfica trepidante.

Francisco Sánchez has contributed a photo to this story.