A recent study finds that 60% of all primates are endangered.
For the first time, 31 primatologists investigated every known primate. Seventy-five percent of primates are endangered.
Hunting, mining, and lack of farming are blamed for the low numbers. The population has shrunk dramatically in the last decade.
Since 2000, 85 new primate species have been found. China has identified a new gibbon species, raising the total to 505. Seven new species have been found, and will be researched in depth this year.
Scientists have been able to investigate previously inaccessible areas due to habitat destruction, which is both good and detrimental.
Dr. Rylands, co-author of the new study, warns that “if they don’t identify and characterise [the creatures], they will be gone without our knowledge.”
It was in Science Advances.
Scientists revealed that certain primate groups had different DNA. In his words, Dr. Yoder of the Duke Lemur Centre, “Even though they seem quite similar to our eyes, they are distinct species.”
Some Animals Doing Well
Some species have a higher chance. “Some species are doing OK,” said co-author and Saint Louis University anthropologist Katherine C. MacKinnon. Adaptability, not specialty, is the key to success.
The survey found 87 lemur species under danger, as well as every ape species, including gorillas, chimps, and orang-utans.
