Three Southeast Asian Langurs Are Distinctly Different Species

The newly described East Sumatran banded langur (Presbytis percura) qualifies as critically endangered—it’s now one of the rarest and most imperiled primates. Photograph by Andie Ang New findings, published Scientific Reports, have identified that langurs found in Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, are actually three distinct species. By studying DNA found in the monkey's...

Positive news on the conservation front, where the number of mountain gorillas is over a 1,000 individuals. The survey found the Virunga population has risen to 604 among in 41 social groups... Compared to the 480 individuals counted in the last survey in 2010. The only other place mountain gorillas survive is in Uganda’s Bwindi...

The Newly Discovered And Nearly Extinct Tapanuli Orangutan Species

Up to today, there were two known Orangutan species, both critically endangered. There are about 4,000 more Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) than Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) currently living in the Indonesian rainforest. A new orangutan family member, the Tapanuli orangutans (Pongo tapanuliensis), was described in a paper published Thursday in Current Biology. And with less than 800 individuals, that makes...

The Possibility Of Full Protection For Chimpanzees Under The Endangered Species Act

For as long as I've been alive, wild chimpanzees have been “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Captive-born chimps, however, have only been classified under the lesser class of “threatened.” Dan Ashe, the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), announced today that the loophole that exempted captive-bred chimpanzees from the full...

Environmental Enrichment for Captive Primates: Recent Article on the Importance of Gum for Zoo Monkeys

By: Kristin Abt A recent article in the journal, Zoo Biology, discusses the current lack of gum enrichment for certain primate species in a captive setting that is in contrast to their wild behavior. Huber and Lewis (2011) surveyed zoos at an international scale to assess the occurrence and methods of “gum-based enrichment.” They identify...

Orangutan Behavior during the Rehabilitation Process

By Kristin Abt   A recent article "Fostering Appropriate Behavior in Rehabilitant Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus)" published online in the International Journal of Primatology discusses research on the behavior of rehabilitant orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus and P. abelii) at the Orangutan Care and Quarantine Centre in Pangkalan Bun, Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). Much past research has focused on postrelease behavior...

Rehabilitation and Release: West African Chimpanzee Conservation Success

By: Kristin Abt Recently published online in the International Journal of Primatology, an article by Humle, Colin, Laurans, and Raballand (2010) discusses the release of a group of 12 chimpanzeees into the High Niger National Park in Guinea, West Africa. Through the efforts of the Chimpanzee Conservation Center, 9 chimpanzees remain in natural habitat at...

Spotlight on the Urban Ecology of Long-tailed Macaques

The study of conservation biology, and its oft-times competitor - urbanization, is increasingly relevant to the study of primatology. As a species, long-tailed macaques demonstrate a number of conflicts and potential implications of the urbanization occurring in primate-habitat countries. The long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) is the third-most common primate in the world with an extensive range...

A Review of wildlife crop raiding in Indonesia: patterns, local perceptions, and mitigation techniques.

by Allison Hanes Indonesia serves as a good example of a country where the landscape is changing and in turn affecting wildlife and people.  Forests are being cut down at alarming rates for agricultural demands such as the palm oil industry.  Palm plantations cover 3,107,986 hectares of Indonesia and the government plans to expand plantations...

LuiKotale Bonobos Hunt Monkeys

Also in the latest Current Biology and first shared by John Hawks is news that may shakeup what you understood was unique to bonobo behavior, that they didn't hunt other primates. We know that some bonobos eat rodents and small antelopes, albeit infrequently, but for quite sometime we assumed they didn't consume other primates because...