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Last Updated: Aug 6, 2008 - 8:57:45 AM |
But after a solitary existence spanning centuries in some of Africa's
remotest areas, a lost world of western lowland gorillas has been
discovered.
In a rare instance of good news for one of the world's most endangered
species, the hidden trove, found deep in the forests of the Democratic
Republic of Congo, at least doubles all previous population estimates
and has astounded primatologists.
As many as 125,000 of the animals were identified in two of the
country's northern regions spanning 18,000 square miles following a
rigorous census conducted by scientists from the New York-based
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and local government researchers.
The results of the census were announced yesterday at a meeting of the
International Primatological Society in Edinburgh.
Numbers of the species, long the victims of deforestation, warfare,
poachers and the Ebola virus, were until recently put at 100,000.
It is understood there will now be moves to establish new protected
areas.
Emma Stokes, a WCS biologist who helped co-ordinate the study, said the
dense forests in the Congo had kept the animals out of human sight.
She said: "This is a significant discovery because of the terrible
decline in population of these magnificent creatures to Ebola and bush
meat.
"It was an incredible moment when we realised the figures we were
getting in. They had not been previously recorded because these are
remote areas, inaccessible and tough to survey."
Western lowland gorillas are one of four gorilla sub-species, which
also include mountain gorillas, eastern lowland gorillas, and cross
river gorillas.
All are labelled endangered or critically endangered by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The researchers worked out the figures by identifying and counting the
sleeping "nests" gorillas make. The creatures are too reclusive to
count individually.
Craig Stanford, professor of anthropology and biology at the University
of Southern California, said: "If these census results are confirmed,
they are incredibly exciting, the kind of good news we rarely find."
While calling the discovery important, Ms Stokes said it did not mean
gorillas in the wild were now safe.
"The gorillas are still under threat from Ebola and hunting for bush
meat. We must not become complacent. Ebola can wipe out thousands in a
short time," she said.
Species on the brink of extinction
RONDO DWARF GALAGO
The world's smallest galago, the Rondo dwarf galago survives in less
than 100,000sq km of tiny forest pockets, scattered in two widely
separated regions of coastal Tanzania.
There is no definitive population estimate for the tiny primate, which
weighs just 60g, but the species is known to be under severe threat as
a result of habitat loss.
BLACK-FACED LION TAMARIN
Barely 300 black-faced lion tamarins survive today – almost all of them
confined to a single small island off the coast of Brazil.
For more than a century and a half, biologists heard rumours of an
unknown primate living in seaside forests on the far south-eastern
coast. Despite expeditions throughout the 20th century, nothing
conclusive was found until its discovery in 1990.
PENNANT'S RED COLOBUS MONKEY
With its population mainly confined to one corner of the island of
Bioko, the monkey is heavily poached to supply the bushmeat markets of
west Africa. Its disappearance from the remainder of central west
Africa is a mystery.
There have been no confirmed sightings of the species for 20 years.
Next decade is critical for one in three primates
A THIRD of the world's most seriously endangered primates could
disappear within ten years if nothing is done to protect them, an
expert warned yesterday.
A global review found that around half the world's primate species are
threatened with extinction because they are being eaten or their
habitats destroyed.
Those most at risk may have less than a decade left if no action is
taken, Russell Mittermeier, chairman of the International Union for
Conservation of Nature's primate specialist group, warned.
Speaking at a conference in Edinburgh, he said: "About one in three are
in the critically endangered or endangered category, which means they
could disappear in the next five to ten years if we don't protect them."
The latest red list of threatened species shows that, of the world's
634 recognised primates, 11 per cent are critically endangered and 22
per cent are endangered.
In Asia, about 70 per cent of primates face extinction.
The figures were revealed at the International Primatological Society
Congress in Edinburgh, where 1,200 conservationists are gathered.
Dr Mittermeier said humanity had a "moral obligation" to conserve its
closest living relatives.
In Africa, the red colobus monkey was found to be particularly at risk,
with 11 of the 13 kinds critically endangered or endangered.
Source:Ocnus.net 2008
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