It's a heartbreaking list of 25 species on Earth that are about to disappear and their stories.
The African continent
Gallagoides rondoensis
The little guy weighs only 60 grams, making it the smallest of the congener monkey family. Most of them grow in the forests of Tanzania, preying on insects and also eating fruit. During the day, build a nest in the shade of a tree to sleep, and only come out at night to move. However, their range of activities is getting smaller and smaller, and the reasons for this include human agricultural activities. By 2014, the range of the velvet monkey totaled 94.4 square kilometers, with the smallest one only 2.4 square kilometers.
Cercopithecus diana roloway, long-tailed monkey with wide white eyebrows
The broad-browed long-tailed monkey lives in the virgin forests of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. They inhabit tall tree canopies and rarely fall to the ground for activity. Because of the high value of flesh and skin, they are ruthlessly hunted by humans. Over the past 40 years, the broad-browed long-tailed monkey has gradually disappeared from Ghana, and in Côte d'Ivoire, it can only be seen in the Tanoé forest.
Pun-style red colobus preussi
The Prussian red colobus monkey is mainly found in western Cameroon and southeastern Nigeria. The dense, moist canopy is ideal for home. They are considered rare game meat and thus invite killings. Each year, nearly 8,600 Pu-style red colobus monkeys are traded. Deforestation by local residents and expanding agricultural activities have made the range of the Pu-style red colobus monkey narrower.
Tana River red colobus piliocolobus rufomitratus
Kenya's lower Tana River is lined with a dense promenade forest. Together with a few other sporadic woods in the Tana Delta, it has become the only remaining habitat for the Tana River red colobus monkey. However, the expansion of agricultural activity shattered the originally intact woodland area. In recent years, five dams in the upper reaches of the Tana River have caused dramatic changes in the river's water volume, with frequent floods. This trend shows no signs of abating. Currently, a sixth dam is under construction. The number of red colobus monkeys in the Tana River is already less than 1,000 and is still decreasing.
Eastern lowland gorilla Gorilla beringei graueri
Eastern lowland gorillas travel through the lowland and mountain forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, feeding on leaves, bark, vines, fruits and insects. The largest primate in existence weighs up to 225 kilograms and is over 1.8 meters tall. Since the 1990s, conflicts have continued on the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a large number of refugees and armed groups fleeing and settling in, encroaching on the habitat of eastern lowland gorillas. There are 2,000 to 10,000 existing animals.
Madagascar
Lavasoa rat lemur Cheirogaleus lavasoensis
As early as 2001, lavasoa rat lemurs were discovered and were initially mistakenly classified as a rat lemur subfamily. As genetic technology evolved, it was eventually re-identified as a new species in 2013. The Lavasoa rat lemur has a tail equally long as its body , with a reddish-brown head that fades to grayish brown at the tail. Life habits are unknown. They exist only in three separate forested areas at the southernmost tip of Madagascar, with a total area of 105 hectares. These habitats are shrinking due to indiscriminate local deforestation and slash-and-burn farming. Fewer than 50 are extant and endangered.
Lake Alautra tamed the lemur Hapalemur alaotrensis
Lake Alautera lemurs are found only in the reeds of Lake Alautra, the largest lake in Madagascar, and are the only primates in the world that inhabit wetlands entirely. Over the past 40 years, the population of the Lake Alautra region has quadrupled. Human survival depends on rice cultivation and fishing activities, and the habitat of the domesticated lemur is thus encroached upon and polluted. Between 2001 and 2007, the area's wetland vegetation cover decreased by 30 per cent. Today, fewer than 5,000 lake Alautra lemurs remain.
Red-collared lemur Varecia rubra
Red-collared lemurs are limited to Madagascar's Mazuala National Park and northern Antongill Bay. Their hair is fluffy and colorful, and they spend time every day cleaning them with their own paws. Unlike other lemurs, they operate monogamous family life, warning each other and defending themselves with their hoarse, tug-of-war calls. Due to their large size and inhabiting only the crowns of primitive trees, red-collared lemurs are easily positioned and hunted. The latest study shows that the population density of red-collared lemurs is less than 17 per square kilometer.
Lepilemur Septentrionalis of the Northern Ferret Lemur
This small arboreal primate lives only in a few xerotic forests of northern Madagascar. They sleep during the day and come out at night in search of food, mainly leaves, but also fruits and flowers. Over the past 10 years, the population of the Northern Ferret Lemur has declined dramatically, with fewer than 50 remaining. Local government protection measures did not play much, and humans followed, quarrying and logging, threatening the last home of these small animals.
Proto-Lemur of Piscene
The original Lemur of Pischy has black hair and a pair of orange-red eyes that are eye-catching. They live in dry deciduous forests and semi-evergreen transitional forest belts in northern Madagascar, feeding on leaves and flowers. The habits of life are unknown. There are less than 2,000 of them.
Asia
Filipino tarsouri Carlito syrichta
It's hard not to like these little animals, which have big eyes and a friendly temper. However, the Philippines' forests are under various threats and animal sanctuaries are in crisis. Frequent typhoons have also made the living conditions of the Philippine tarsal monkeys even more worrisome. On the island of Pol, they are caught and kept in captivity as a tourist selling point. Animals that were originally nocturnal are displayed along the road during the day to attract tourists. In addition, it is also fashionable to illegally adopt tarsal monkeys as pets.
Javanese loris Nycticebus javanicus
Asia's lorises face common problems: dwindling habitats; being adopted as pets; being traded for their medicinal value; and being used as a prop for tourists to take pictures. Some parts of their bodies are also crafted into key chains. Among them, the Javanese loris is the most precarious. Although it has been classified as a protected animal by local law since 1973, it has been a "hot commodity" in the Indonesian pet trade since the 1990s because of its pleasing appearance. In addition, for fear of being poisoned after being bitten by a loris, the trader would extract its lower front teeth. A significant number of lorises die from the resulting infection, cysts, or pneumonia.
Guinea-tailed langur Simias concolor
As the name suggests, this langur has a pig-like tail. They are found only in the Mintawe Islands in western Sumatra and eat mainly leaves and fruits. The long arms of the guinea-tailed langur are well suited for tree climbing, and they are active in the trees during the day and rarely fall to the ground. They are increasingly infested by humans, including hunting and logging, and large areas of habitat have been converted into oil palm plantations and forest clearings. The Malaysian government's erratic plans for land use and the potential for ecological protection in the Mintawi Islands could change at any time, laying hidden concerns about the living conditions of the guinea-tailed langur.
Trachypithecus delacouri
The Desson langurs are found only in some parts of northern Vietnam and fewer than 275 extant. They are orange-yellow at birth and turn black when they grow up. In local tradition, the bones, organs and tissues of this langur have medicinal properties and are therefore hunted in large numbers. Over the past 20 years, their number has decreased by more than a hundred. In recent years, the situation has changed. In 2001, the reserve was established, and to date, the population of the Deswellic langurs has doubled.
Golden-headed langur Trachypithecus poliocephalus poliocephalus
Vietnam's Cat Ba Island is littered with bottomless cracks and steep cliffs. Only two shallow ponds supply fresh water, and they disappear in the dry season. Still, the island is home to more than 1,500 species of flora and fauna, dozens of which are found here alone, including the golden-headed langur. They can only adapt to rocky landforms and spend most of their time hiding behind water curtains in limestone caves. At one point in the 1960s, the number of this langur reached more than 2,400, but as of 2000, only 50 remained. There is only one reason: the golden-headed langur has medicinal properties and is therefore hunted by humans.
Vietnamese golden snub-nosed monkey Rhinopithecus avunculus
The Vietnamese golden snub-nosed monkey is found only in the low-altitude subtropical rainforests of the limestone mountains of western Vietnam and is one of two species of golden snub-nosed monkeys that exist outside of China. They are active during the day and feed on leaves, fruits, flowers, etc. After its discovery in 1911, the golden snub-nosed monkey was thought to have become extinct until it was rediscovered in 1989. Vietnamese golden snub-nosed monkeys were also considered to have medicinal properties and were hunted. Fewer than 250 are extant.
Kashmiri grey langur Semnopithecus ajax
The least known members of the langur family live in the steep, rugged hills of the western Himalayas. In 1928, a British zoologist first described the Kashmiri grey langur. Affectionately, he called it "a handsome langur," with thick fur and jet-black forearms. This langur has a muscular body, like the warrior Ajax in Roman mythology. Today, their protected areas are built and are located in local tourist attractions. The ensuing tourists leave behind a large amount of non-biodegradable garbage. Unguided wildlife lovers can also easily enter. The Kashmiri grey langur remains threatened by human development activities.
Semnopithecus west purple-faced langur vetulus nestor
The population density of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, is extremely high. The west purple-faced langur is nearby, and they suffer the consequences of urbanization. This arboreal animal feeds on leaves and now has to look for fruit in the "urban woodlands". In the long run, this change in eating habits is not beneficial to the health of the animal. Habitats become fragmented, forcing the western purple-faced langur to migrate to the ground, easily captured, kept as pets, or killed in contact with power lines. All that remains of their homeland is a 21-square-kilometer forest.
Nomascus hainanus, Hainan gibbon
Hainan gibbons prefer to inhabit lowland rainforests, but because lowland rainforests were destroyed in the twentieth century, they had to retreat to montane rainforests above 650 meters above sea level. The difference from other gibbons is that the Hainan gibbon has a large population and a family-like life. In the 1950s, the population numbered as many as 2,000, but in 1989, only 21 were left, mainly because of the medicinal value of their bones, which were hunted by humans.
Sumatran orangutan Pongo abelii
Sumatran orangutans have a long reproductive cycle (8 to 9 years), low population densities, and a large amount of space for survival, so they need large stretches of rainforest as a habitat. This condition is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. The local forests have been replaced with oil palm, and the presence of mines and settlements has also encroached on the space of orangutans. The pups of Sumatran orangutans are also traded as pets. There are more than 6,600 extant animals scattered in nine separate habitats.
Neotropical realm (including the entire South American continent, the Mexican lowlands and Central America)
Brown spider monkey Atiles hybridus
Because the body and limbs of the spider monkey are very slender, when it moves in the tree, it looks like a spider from a distance, hence the name. The brown spider monkey lives in the narrow river valleys of Colombia and Venezuela. Their fertility cycle is as long as 7 to 8 years. In addition, he likes to move freely in the large forest and eat a variety of ripe fresh fruits. This makes them extremely easy to hunt. In Colombia, less than one percent of the habitat where brown spider monkeys live is protected. Other areas continue to disappear into pastures and oil palm plantations.
The brown-headed spider monkey Atiles fusciceps
The brown-headed spider monkey lives along ecuador's pacific coast, inhabiting primary or secondary forests, preferring tall tree canopies as a place of activity. The tail of this animal can pick food with the flexibility of the hand. In addition, there is a middle vein in the tail that directly connects to the arterial tube. When the weather is hot, it becomes a radiator. When the weather cools, arterial blood can return directly to the body without passing through small blood vessels. This is how the brown-headed spider monkey relies on its tail to regulate its body temperature. They also face the threat of reduced forest area and human hunting.
Cebus kaapori, Capuchin monkey
Capuchin monkeys inhabit the eastern edge of The Brazilian Amazon rainforest, which is the most densely populated area in the entire Amazon basin, where large tracts of woodland are cut down and turned into farms and pastures, in the process, more than 70 percent of the forest area disappears. Despite protected areas, logging is frequent, and wildlife trade and drug cultivation also affect the area. Within three generations (48 years), the Capuchin capuchin has been reduced by nearly 80%.
Andean monkey Calicebus oenanthe
Until 2007, the knowledge of the Andean monkey was limited to 6 museum specimens and a few personal observations. Later, a team specializing in it did a lot of fieldwork to gradually unveil the mystery of this animal. The Andean monkey lives mainly in the lowland forests of the Eastern Andes Mountains of Peru. Very few of them remain in protected areas, and other scattered distributions have a low chance of survival. Human agricultural activity encroaches on the habitat of the Andean monkey, whose population has decreased by 80% over the past 25 years.
Brown howler Alouatta guariba guariba
Howler monkeys are the loud voices of primates, their hyoid bones are well developed, and they emit deafening roars when they are active in the morning and dusk, encounter enemies or compete for territory, and can be heard even 1.5 kilometers away. The brown howler monkey lives in the lowlands and mountains of Brazil's Atlantic coast, feeds on leaves and fruits, and thus sows seeds for some plants. The biggest threat to the survival of brown howler monkeys is human hunting and reduced woodland.
Source: "Primates in Peril: The World's 25 Most EndangeredPrimates 2014-2016"