It's About Animals

Primates are the mammals that are humankind's closest biological relatives. We share 98.4% of our DNA with chimpanzees. About 90% of primates live in tropical forests and play an integral role in the ecology of their habitat. They help the forest by being pollinators, seed predators, and seed dispersers.

Most primates live in tropical, developing countries, and humans compete with them for resources. In many parts of the world, primates are exploited for food, "medicine," and commercial trade. Primates that raid crops because they are hungry and need to feed themselves and their families are shot or poisoned. The forest habitat that is home to most species is being logged and cleared at an alarming rate by commercial loggers and subsistence farmers for land and firewood. Live capture of some primates for the pet trade and for export for biomedical research has become a lesser concern in recent decades, but is still a problem for some species.

In 1996, 93 of the 620 known primate species were "critically endangered" or "endangered", according to the World Conservation Union, a coalition of governments and conservationists. Four years later, the group is now revising that number upward to nearly 120 - or 20 percent of the world's primate species. Explanations for the decrease in primate population include hunting by humans and habitat destruction. One of the reports authors, Bill Konstant, said in a recent statement, "Close to 20 percent of the world's primates stand a reasonable chance of disappearing within the next 10 to 20 years unless we take decisive action." The scientists catalogued the 25 most endangered primates, noting that 24 are found exclusively in seven biodiversity "hotspots" where habitat is being destroyed and species are being hunted, conceivably to extinction.

These "hotspot" areas cover just 1.4 percent of Earth, Conservation International notes, yet claim more than 60 percent of all plant and animal diversity. Some areas have seen 90 to 97 percent of the original primate habitat disappear. When uncontrolled hunting is allowed, primates continue to be helpless and in danger, particularly in Central and West Africa. Entire populations of one species in West Africa are disappearing because of a growing trade in meat from primates.

The fate of several primate species will be decided in the next five years. The experts say that while protecting the identified hotspots would cost money, the amount would be minimal when compared to environmental projects in industrialized countries. If we humans collectively and as individuals do not act to protect these endangered primates and their habitats, they both will disappear and will be lost forever. We must get involved, write letters, educate others, and help the local communities that live near the forest to preserve their wildlife. Primate Conservation, Inc., (PCI) is an all volunteer not for profit foundation dedicated to studying, preserving and maintaining the habitats of the least known and most endangered primates in the world. Their postal address is 1411 Shannock Road, Charlestown, Rhode Island 02813-3726 and their telephone number is 401 364 7140.

Bob DeFranco is an animal behavior therapist, executive director of the Animal Behavior Center of New York and president of the American Foundation for Animal Rescue, Inc. in Queens. Watch him on Pet Talk Live, Wednesdays at 8:30 PM on Channel 34 in Queens and listen to him on the new radio talk show It's About Animals on NewsTalk 1050 WEVD AM on Saturdays at 5:00 PM beginning February 12, 2000. Questions or comments? Write P.O. Box 7623, Rego Park, NY 11374 or e-mail him at: bob@canines.com

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