Quito, Ecuador | AFP | Six species of primates from Latin America that live in Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and one that extends from Mexico to Colombia, are among the most threatened in the world, according to an organization of international experts.
Deforestation and hunting, in addition to diseases, are decimating primate populations in the region, said a panel of specialists from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which prepares the red list of primates at risk. .
The Alta Floresta titi, from Brazil, appears for the first time in this list that is updated every two years, Ecuadorian Stella de la Torre, organizer of the Congress of the International Society of Primatology that met in Quito to make a partial inventory.
This is “a guide to know which species to prioritize in management and research issues,” added de la Torre.
In addition to the Alta Floresta titi, species such as the yellow-headed titi, the kaapori capuchin and the brown-headed spider monkey are under threat, said the professor at the private Universidad San Francisco de Quito. The list is completed by the equatorial capuchin, the brown howler and the Central American spider monkey.
All these varieties are part of the 25 most endangered in the world, among which species from Africa and Asia also appear.
There are 523 species in the world and 171 inhabit the American continent, of which 42% are at risk of disappearing.
Deforestation is the main factor that endangers these animals, researchers said.
“For each species there are different threats. There are species that suffer more from hunting, there are others that suffer from habitat fragmentation, there are some that are more susceptible to diseases,” Leandro Jerusalinsky, from the National Center for Research and Conservation of Primates of Brazil.
The “grace shot”
In Ecuador, one of the most megadiverse countries (with the highest rates of biodiversity), the situation is “dramatic,” said de la Torre, recalling that the 22 varieties of monkeys that inhabit his country are under some category of threat, according to with the Red Book of mammals.
For example, the fragmentation of forests condemns primates to live in small green patches, which leads to another problem: inbreeding and thus genetic alterations. In addition, the closeness with people exposes them to diseases that are lethal to them.
“Since they are our closest relatives, we have many physiological similarities and a high possibility of disease transmission between humans and primates,” explained de la Torre. Yellow fever, malaria or herpes decimate monkey populations.
When primates are forced to live together in small areas of forest, a disease is like a “coup de grace”. For a small population it is very difficult to recover because the monkeys have long gestation times and childhoods, which makes them reproduce slowly.
Hunting, the trafficking of live animals for the pet market and beliefs that monkey blood cures diseases also put primates in the Americas at risk.
The fear of infecting the monkeys with covid-19 has stopped the work of scientists in the last two years, who were forced to suspend expeditions.
“This also had an impact on conservation because we had to stop doing basic education and community work,” said Leandro Jerusalinsky.
