istockphoto/En Tien Ou

A chimpanzee in the forest.

There is no question about it; many primates are in the danger zone, headed for extinction. Of the 394 primate species in the world, 114 are classified as threatened due to habitat destruction, trade in live animals or their body parts, and the sale of their meat for human consumption. Among the most severely endangered are the greater bamboo lemur of Madagascar, the Rondo dwarf galago of Tanzania, the Siau Island tarsier of Indonesia, and the variegated spider monkey, found in Colombia and Venezuela.

Humans are also primates, but we are in no danger of extinction. In fact, our abundance is the main reason why other primates are in peril. A list of the top 25 most endangered primates  was released by Conservation International in October 2007, along with a report in which Russell Mittermeier, chair of the World Conservation Union’s Primate Specialist Group, said that the surviving individuals of the 25 primate species would barely fill the seats in a football stadium. 

Non-human primates are among the most intelligent animals on earth, not to mention the most genetically similar to humans. Recent studies have estimated that 98.77% of human DNA is identical to that of chimpanzees. Knowing this should encourage people to want to protect and conserve other primates as our closest relatives. While there are many devoted individuals working hard to preserve these marvelous animals, more needs to be done to prevent their permanent loss from threats such as capture for the pet trade or entertainment, biomedical research, traditional medicine or as hunting trophies.