A report reveals that primates are facing an impending "extinction crisis," with 60% of all primates now at risk of extinction. The research assessed the conservation status of 504 species of nonhuman primates and found that three-quarters of the world’s primate species are undergoing an "alarming" population decline.
The primates are a diverse order that include apes, our closest biological relatives, as well as monkeys, lemurs, lorises and tarsiers.
"The situation turns out to be worse than most of us thought going in," the study’s co-author Dr Paul Garber, professor of anthropology at the University of Illinois told CNN. "Primates worldwide are facing mass extinction."
"It was surprising to learn that the rate of decline was so high," agrees the study’s other co-author, Dr Alejandro Estrada, a senior research scientist at the Institute of Biology, National Autonomous University of Mexico. "This is of great concern as the figures suggest that we may be reaching a tipping point, or perhaps we are already there."