The IUCN Red List of primates makes grim reading, says Conservation International president Russell Mittermeier. In a recent edition of BBC’s “Green Room,” he says the sooner we listen to the message that our closest living relatives are telling us, the longer we have to save ourselves.

“Monkeys and apes are trying to tell us something. After all, some of the non-human primates that share 98.5% of our genetic code can and do talk to us.

“Take Kanzi, for instance; this bonobo chimp understands thousands of words, uses sentences, expresses emotions and concern for others; even talks on the phone. Whether certain primates, such as chimps and other apes, use language the same way people do remains a matter of scientific debate.

“But one thing about primates that scientists agree upon today is that they are among the most threatened animal species on Earth.

“Results of the most recent global primate assessment have been discussed recently at the annual International Primatological Society meeting, held in Edinburgh, Scotland. The survey was done as part of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and it is grim reading.

“Nearly 50% of the world’s 634 primate species and subspecies are in danger of going extinct. The situation is most dire in Asia, where more than 70% could disappear forever in the near future.”
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