A Chilling Report on the Plight of our Closest Relatives—and more
Ending primate genocide requires tackling the gorilla in the room.
I am a human being and a biologist who cherishes life. Knowing little about wild primates, I studied this entire report. Tragically, most of it spells death.
Look through the species accounts. You'll see that humans are crowding out Earth’s primates, destroying their habitats, and hunting them.
Sixty-four percent of 719 primate species are at risk of extinction, and three quarters have declining populations. This report covers 25 primates that are among the most imperiled.
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If you think you’re hearing a cry from a forest that sounds like “back-off,” it’s because you are!
However, “backing off” is increasingly difficult because of our vast and growing numbers. In the tropics where most wild primates live, human populations continue to surge (see “note” after each section below). This creates further competition between us and our wild relatives for living space and resources, and heightens the risk of civil unrest, political instability, and war (almost always bad news for conservation programs).
The proverbial “gorilla in the room” (no offense to real gorillas):
From 1970 to 2020, the world suffered a tremendous loss of wildlife that, for vertebrates, averaged 73%. There’s no doubt that human numbers, having more than doubled during that time, were a primary cause.
We can’t end genocide of primates and other wild animals without broadening the scope of conservation practice. Rule making and policing, new protected areas, field research, education programs, alternative incomes for local people, and the like are all essential, but they are not enough. Hard won gains are undermined by human population growth, and related problems of mass migration (particularly in the tropics) and climate change.
Please, let’s abandon that stubborn reluctance to deal with this monster of a problem. It’s the achilles heel of conservation. Proven ways to quickly reduce birth rates include education for girls and women, family planning programs, promotion of small families, and greater access to contraceptives. These are absolutely essential to the conservation of wild primates (as to the meaning of conservation, see Coda #1 at the bottom of this essay.)
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Our society’s failure to acknowledge the widespread genocide of wildlife, including that of our closest relatives, absolutely infuriates me. See Coda #2 below for comments on why use of that word is valid for animals other than humans.
For related essays, see: The Greatest Injustice of All Time, Why Extinctions Really Matter, Genocide and Terrorism as Crimes Against Other Animals, Compelling Reasons to End Human Supremacy
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Primate Species Accounts
Look beyond their assigned names and pause to reflect on the actual living primates they represent—beings that share a close common ancestry with us, with their own unique ways of living and perceiving the world, and their own emotional experiences of pleasure, pain, anxiety, and dreams.
To help us connect to animals we’ll likely never see, the report includes excellent photos, illustrations, and location maps. Some photos are heartbreaking nonetheless, when one draws the connection between these beautiful creatures and the awful things that humans are doing to them.
Here’s my summary, by geographic region, of findings from Primates in Peril, emphasizing habitats and threats. Next to their names, I’ve added page numbers to photos of them in the report. For some, I’ve included links to photos or video from other sources.
Madagascar —
Situated off the southeastern coast of Africa, Madagascar is home to over 100 species of lemur, nearly all of which are at risk of extinction.
Madame Berthe’s Mouse Lemur (photo page 8; other photo)
Coquerel’s Giant Mouse Lemur (photo page 16)
Sahafary Sportive Lemur (photo page 12)
Red Ruffed Lemur (photo page 20; other photos)
Mouse and sportive lemurs inhabit dry deciduous forests. The sportive also lives in forest corridors bordering watercourses (gallery forests). By contrast, Red Ruffed lemurs occur in moist lowland forests.
Lemur forests are degraded and destroyed by local subsistence (slash and burn) agriculture, expansion of villages, tree cutting for building materials, and charcoal production for cooking and heating. The Sportive Lemur’s habitat is also wrecked by commercial logging and mining, while that of the Giant Mouse Lemur by livestock grazing.
The larger species (the Sportive and the Giant Mouse Lemurs) are hunted for “bushmeat,” especially in areas of low food security for people. Other threats include severe drought and competition for food (between Giant Mouse Lemurs and less threatened species of lemur), illegal trade in timber, and strong cyclones damaging what remains of habitat (for Red Ruffed Lemur).
Note: The struggle to protect lemurs is up against what’s projected to be an astounding increase in Madagascar’s population of 70% for 2023-2050 (from 32 to 53 million people)!
Africa —
Rondo Dwarf Galago (photos page 28, 31 and 32)
Golden-bellied Mangabey (photo page 34; other photo)
Southern Patas Monkey (photo page 40; other photo)
Red-bellied Monkey (photo page 44; other photos)
Niger Delta Red Colobus (photo page 48; video)
Cross River Gorilla (photo page 52; other photo)
These high-risk primates inhabit separate locations across central and south-central Africa.
The Rondo Dwarf Galago and the Southern Patas Monkey live in Tanzania, the later having disappeared from Kenya by 2015. However, their habitats are quite different: the Dwarf Galago occupies what are now remnant patches of coastal dry forest while the Patas Monkey inhabits interior woodland-savanna.
The Golden-bellied Mangabey occurs only in the Democratic Republic of Congo where it prefers forest-savanna communities. The Red-bellied Monkey and Niger Delta Red Colobus live at separate locations in lowland forests of southern Nigeria that are marshy or occasionally flooded.
Cross River Gorillas inhabit hill and montane forests of Nigeria and neighboring Cameroon, in an area densely populated by people.
These primates are threatened by severe loss of habitat from agriculture, expanding human settlements, and/or forest cutting (small scale and commercial, legal and illegal). Trees are frequently used for making charcoal.
To make matters worse, the Red-bellied Monkey’s forests are being replaced by oil palm plantations; the Patas Monkey must compete with local herders for space and water; the Dwarf Galago is forced to deal with railway impacts; and the Niger Delta Red Colobus has its marsh forests drained by canals dug to transport logs and oil to markets. Meanwhile, Cross River Gorillas face large-scale development projects and more road building.
If the nightmare of habitat loss and degradation were not enough, these primates are also hunted (the exception being the tiny Dwarf Galago). This typically involves “bushmeat” hunting for subsistence or trade. Killing of Cross River Gorillas appears mostly related to civil unrest and human migration. As especially beautiful animals, Golden-bellied Mangabeys are captured for the local and international pet trades, with infants sometimes taken after mothers are killed for bushmeat. They’re also destroyed as “pests” near farms and mines. Likewise, Patas Monkeys are killed for raiding people’s crops, and are caught in snares set for other wildlife.
Note: Human populations of the countries inhabited by these primates are exploding. Currently at about 343 million, they’re expected to reach 551 million in 25 years! (source: Worldometers). The species accounts for Southern Patas Monkey (Tanzania +60 million people by 2050) and Red-bellied Monkey (Nigeria +122 million people) wisely recognize this growing threat.
Asia —
Northern Pygmy Slow Loris (photo page 58, other photo and video)
Sangihe Tarsier (photo page 62, other photo)
Cat Ba Langur (photo page 66, other photos)
Pig-tailed Snub-nosed Langur (photo page 70; other photo)
Myanmar Snub-nosed Monkey (photo page 74)
Raffles’ Banded Langur (photo page 780)
Bornean Banded Langur (photo page 83; video)
Cao-vit Gibbon (photo pages 85, 86, and 88)
Tapanuli Orangutan (photo page 92, other photo)
The Northern Pygmy Slow Loris inhabits forests of Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and southern China where it feeds on plant exudates (sap, gum, resins, etc.). Aside from declining habitat, it’s mind blowing to learn that the main threat to this diminutive primate is an illegal “pet” trade stimulated by social media! The animals are also used in traditional medicine for a variety of aliments.
An even smaller primate, the Sangihe Tarsier, is confined to a single island of Indonesia. Couples are known for their duet calls to their family before bedtime at dawn. The species is pressed by Sangihe Island’s burgeoning human population and threatened by a gold mining concession that covers half the island.
The Cat Ba Langur, or Golden-headed Langur, is also restricted to a single island where it inhabits limestone formations. It’s the rarest primate in Vietnam. Habitat fragmentation and disturbance related to increased tourism and increasing human numbers, along with hunting for sport and traditional medicines, are primary threats.
Hunting is also a problem for the Pig-tailed Snub-nosed Langur of Indonesia. It is a “game species” that’s considered a local delicacy. The forests of this langur, which also support five other primate species, are destroyed by oil palm and banana plantations, logging, and forest clearing by local people.
The Myanmar Snub-nosed Monkey (no close relation to the above despite their similar goofy names) is also hunted. Some are taken as “pets.” These monkeys inhabit mountainous temperate and bamboo forests in the transborder area of China and Myanmar. Destruction of their habitat is tied to commercial logging, rotational agriculture, forest fires, and mining.
Raffles’ Banded Langur occurs in low-land and swamp forests of southern Malaysia and Singapore. The animals and their habitat are threatened by urban growth and a variety of human uses, including oil palm plantations, mining, roads, and electric cables.
The Bornean Banded Langur survives only in the northwest corner of Borneo in less than 5% of its former range. Cash crop plantations, forest burning, hunting, and a host of other human activities are the culprits. One of its two subspecies is orange with a pale chest and black on the arms. The other is mostly black.
The Cao-vit Gibbon is also restricted to a small area, in this case, a limestone forest in Vietnam and neighboring China. Timber cutting, firewood collection, agriculture, livestock grazing, and direct conflict with people threaten its survival.
Tapanuli Orangutans inhabit a small tract of upland forest on Sumatra, Indonesia, having retreated to the hills from more favorable lowland habitat now occupied by people. Threats to what remains of their habitat include small scale agriculture, large crop plantations, hydroelectric development, and gold and silver mining. The orangutans are also illegally hunted and captured as young for the wildlife trade.
Note: Southeast Asia’s human population is expected to increase by about 75 million over the next 25 years. Its current population stands at 700 million (source: Worldometers).
Central and South America —
Olalla Brothers’ Titi (photo page 98)
Caatinga Titi Monkey (photo pages 102 and 105)
Pied Tamarin (photo pages 107 and 108)
Central American Squirrel Monkey (photo page 112, other photo)
Peruvian Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey (photo page 116 and 118)
Variegated Spider Monkey (photo page 124, other photos)
All of these endangered Neotropical primates are losing forest habitat to agriculture and cattle ranching, often tied to exportation of palm oil and beef.
The Lucachi Rojizo (translated as Reddish Titi Monkey) is what local school children in Bolivia like to call Olalla Brothers’ Titi. Its home is a mix of forest and grassland that’s under siege from agriculture, cattle ranching, and related forest burning. New threats include highway paving and land “development” that’s sure to follow.
The Caatinga (or Blond) Titi Monkey of Brazil faces numerous threats to its seasonally dry and evergreen forests, including urban expansion, highways and power lines, logging, and mining. This titi monkey is hunted.
It’s roughly the same sad story for the strikingly colorful Pied Tamarin of Brazil’s Amazon: clearing of forests for agriculture, cattle ranching, roads, power lines, and urbanization, with the added problems of dog attacks and capture for “pets.”
Central American Squirrel Monkeys face similar assaults on their habitats in Costa Rica and Panama. They’re forced to live under sub-optimal conditions since the best tropical forests (with a mix of growth stages) have been destroyed or degraded by cattle ranching and urbanization. The monkeys are killed on roads and power lines, by farmers, and captured for the pet trade.
One of the world’s largest primates, the Peruvian Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey, occurs only in the tropical Andes of northern and central Peru where it has gained emblematic status (though the vicuña is Peru’s official national animal). In part, this helps explain local, regional, and national governmental interest in protecting the woolly monkey. Neverthelsss, its numbers are declining due to habitat loss and fragmentation related to cattle ranching, cash crop and subsistence agriculture, logging, mining, and a growing human population. Hunting is also problem, with some hunters targeting mothers with infants for the pet trade.
As a kid, I loved the spider monkeys at my local zoo. I never imagined that someday they’d face extinction in the wild. The Variegated Spider Monkey has lost over 85% of its homeland in Columbia and Venezuela, surely most of it since my childhood. Continued forest destruction is rampant, driven by the usual culprits, including agribusiness, cattle ranching, and mining. Like many primates, the Variegated Spider Monkey is also hunted, in this case, for the pet trade and medicinal use.
Note: Human numbers are increasing in all seven countries mentioned here, with a projected additional 25 million by 2050 (from 351.6 million to 375.6 million, based on Worldometer data).
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Codas
What’s the meaning of conservation?
A lot of people, and often key decision makers, consider a species “protected” when a small number of individual animals survive in a small area for a number of years. Nothing could be further from the truth.
There’s a huge difference between conserving a species and “preserving” small relict populations. Most primates and other large mammals require very extensive areas of habitat to be self-sustaining. Otherwise, their populations won’t be large enough to withstand environmental changes and handle losses due to human activities and natural processes, such as predation.
Furthermore, there’s much more to conservation than population viability. Species are not stagnant entities, they need to evolve. That’s what accounts for the incredible diversity and beauty of life on Earth. That remarkable phenomenon—natural evolution—won’t flourish unless we allow large areas of land and sea to re-wild. It’s very hard to imagine that happening without a timely drawdown of our vast human numbers.
Why the word genocide is needed to describe gross cruelty and killing of more than human life.
The word “genocide” accurately describes the severity of ruthless human behavior toward other life. It’s a word, like no other, that demands attention.
Consider its Greek origin. The prefix genos means “tribe or race,” and genea "generation or race." The Latin suffix cide, of course, means killing. Whether we call it genocide or geneacide (a word that currently doesn’t exist), there’s no reason to restrict usage to humans, other than by vacuously claiming that non-humans don’t count because they’re not human.
Alternative words for genocide won’t do. Biocide comes close, but using it in place of genocide would imply a moral distinction between horrors perpetuated by humans on other humans and those against other life when there is none. Moreover, that word typically refers to a substance that kills some animal or plant.
In conservation discourse, we’re very familiar with the words “declining populations” and “species extinction.” Unfortunately, the former very often elicits an “oh well” response from the public. While the latter certainly grabs more attention, it sets the threshold of concern at an unacceptably high level, and implies that actions short of extermination, however harsh, may be justified for non-human animals.
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Let’s hope Africans get a grip on their own reproduction. They are already having wars, tribal unrest, and horrible food insecurity, so they face a scary situation.
Ecocide?