New Primate Species Is Threatened with Extinction

Okmok
T. Davenport, WCS
A new species of Tanzanian monkey discovered less than three years ago is already at risk for extinction, according to a study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). DNA analysis in 2006 showed that the forest-dwelling kipunji is the only representative of its genus of primates. At its current population size of 1,117 and a range of just 6.82 square miles, the kipunji is in danger of being wiped out by the illegal logging, land conversion, and poaching that are occurring in the area, researchers say. WCS argues that the kipunji should be classified as “critically endangered” — threatened with extinction in the wild if immediate conservation action is not taken. “The kipunji is hanging on by the thinnest of threads,” said WCS’s Tim Davenport.