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 As the number of people surpasses 6 billion, and the planet suffers from the effects of our extreme overpopulation, the very survival of other primate species is threatened due to habitat loss and human predation.
Nearly half of all primates are endangered species according to the World Conservation Union, and some experts predict that many of the world's primate species will go extinct within the next 10 to 20 years.  Just what are we losing when we allow primates to go extinct? Our relatives! We humans are primates, and share 98.4 percent of our gene pool with chimpanzees! There are 181 species of primates and a dozen primate families.
PRIMATE FAMILIES :1. Lemurs Cheirogaleidae (Dwarf Lemurs), Lemuridae (True Lemurs), Megaladapidae (Sportive Lemurs) 2. Indriidae (Indris)
3. Daubentoniidae (Aye- aye)
4. Galagonidae (Galagos, or Bushbabies)
5. Loridae (Lorises)
6. Tarsiidae (Tarsiers)
7. Cebidae (Cebids: Howler, Titi, Saki, Woolly, Uakari, Capuchin, Spider, Owl, and Squirrel monkeys)
8. Callitrichidae (Marmosets and Tamarins)
9. Hylobatidae (Gibbons and Siamangs)
10. Hominidae (Great Apes and Man)
11. Cercopithecinae (Old World Monkeys; Macaques, Baboons, Guenons, Drills)
12. Colobinae (Colobus, Langurs, Leaf- monkeys)
Even when primates retain enough habitat to survive, one in three is threatened by the “bushmeat” trade. Bushmeat hunters kill gorillas, chimps, and other African wildlife and sell their bodies for meat. (Note that humans are the only primate other than chimpanzees that eat other primates.) This industrial killing of large numbers of primates is shrinking the population dramatically. |
The trade goes hand-in-hand with the logging of African forests Roads are cut through the forest to get lumber and other raw materials out. Once the roads are built, it’s a pretty sure bet that soon the hunters will roll up in big trucks with high powered rifles, and kill just about everything in sight. The meat is smoked and sold as Bushmeat.  At Primates Online you can read more about bushmeat and download
Bushmeat Action Kit Documents that include the top ten things you can do to help stop the bushmeat trade, how to join the bushmeat petition, a list of contacts for sanctuaries in Africa, how to donate and more.
Other primates are captured for the pet or biomedical research trade. Mothers are killed so their cute babies can be captured and sold on the black market for pets. Endangered baboons and other primates are being secretly sold to medical research organizations in the United States. While the voracious human appetite for land, food and lumber would seem to doom most primates to certain extinction, there is some hope. Conservation groups around the world are making progress, and eco-tourism seems to offer a glimmer of protection. The Mountain Gorilla Conservation Project is a great example of how conservation helps local economies and primates. Thanks to the organization’s work, gorilla eco-tourism has earned Rwanda $10 million annually. In India, monkeys have sacred status because the country’s main religion, Hinduism, forbids killing the animals.  For forty years Jane Goodall has been one of the world’s greatest primate researchers and protectors of primates. She is best known for her work in Gombe National Park in Tanzania, where she lived among chimpanzees for nearly a decade. She is founder of the not-for-profit Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education and Conservation, and has authored 12 books. If Jane Goodall has reason to hope for the survival of primates, we should take heart. It is important to note that the basis for her optimism is us. In her words, "Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference."
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