A Steep Decline in Primates Tempered by Good News on Congo Gorillas

Nearly half of the world’s primate species are threatened with extinction because of massive deforestation and a sharp rise in hunting for bush meat, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The organization said that 303 of the 634 species and sub-species of primates are now on its “red list,” meaning they are vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered. The steepest declines have occurred in Southeast Asia, where 71 percent of primates are threatened as virgin tropical forests are logged and converted to palm oil plantations. In Africa, the bush meat trade means that “in many places, primates are quite literally being eaten to extinction,” one specialist said. Meanwhile, the Wildlife Conservation Society reported some good news among the Congo’s western lowland gorillas, with a recent survey finding 125,000 of these animals, far more than scientists believed were still alive.