Dublin Zoo Director among Experts Warning of Existential Threat to Primate Species Worldwide

Dublin Zoo Director Dr Christoph Schwitzer is one of the editors of a new report which highlights the dire conservation status of 25 primate species on the brink of extinction and calls for targeted conservation efforts to prevent these species from disappearing forever. Immediate global action is required to protect these irreplaceable members of our planet’s biodiversity.

The Primates in Peril report is a biennial collaboration between the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group, Re:wild, and the International Primatological Society. The latest version, combining expertise from over 100 scientists and conservationists worldwide, was released last week.

The aim is to draw global attention to critically endangered primates, generating public awareness and support while also alerting governments, donors, funding sources, researchers and conservation NGOs to the need to take action.

The vast majority of primates live in the world’s tropical forests. The widespread destruction of these ecosystems, along with hunting, wildmeat consumption, illegal wildlife trading and disease, are the principal factors that result in 466 of the 721 recognised primate species and subspecies being assessed as threatened with extinction.

Among the species listed as the World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates 2023-2025 are:

• Madame Berthe’s Mouse Lemur (Microcebus berthae): The world’s smallest primate, now confined to fragmented forests in Madagascar, with notably reduced numbers just over the last three years.
• Red Ruffed Lemur (Varecia rubra): Exclusively occurs on the Masoala Peninsula in northeast Madagascar. Wild populations have plummeted due to deforestation and cyclones. Dublin Zoo is home to a group of red ruffed lemurs, and participates in a European breeding programme for the species.
• Variegated Spider Monkey (Ateles hybridus): With populations plummeting by 80% due to deforestation in northern Colombia and Venezuela.
• Bornean Banded Langur (Presbytis chrysomelas): Found only in Borneo's threatened peat swamp forests, with populations declining rapidly.
• Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli): The rarest subspecies of great ape, with fewer than 250 mature individuals distributed across the Nigeria-Cameroon border.
• Tapanuli Orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis): The rarest of the great ape species, first described only in 2017. It is genetically distinct from the Sumatran orangutan, and only about 800 individuals are left in the Tapanuli region of Sumatra.

In some cases, entire genera (meaning a group of species that most likely have a common ancestor) are under severe threat, including:

• All eight of the Slow lorises (genus Nycticebus): South and Southeast Asia
• The 12 species of Tarsiers (genus Tarsius):  Sulawesi and nearby islands, Indonesia
• The four species of Lion Tamarins (genus Leontopithecus): Brazil’s Atlantic Forest
• All 13 species and subspecies of Spider Monkeys (genus Ateles): Amazonia, northern South America, Central America and Mexico
• All six species and subspecies of Woolly Monkeys (genus Lagothrix): Amazonia and the Andes

In the most extreme case, 95% of the 112 lemur species in Madagascar are threatened with extinction.

Dr Schwitzer is the Director of Dublin Zoo since 2020 and previously led a lemur research and conservation programme in Madagascar. He is a Deputy Chair of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group and chairs the group’s Madagascar Section.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Dr Schwitzer said; “The figures in the ‘Primates in Peril’ report tell a stark story. We are in the midst of an unprecedented conservation crisis and need to take immediate action in order not to lose these species.

Dr Schwitzer believes zoological organisations have a key role to play in protecting endangered species, and highlighted an example of work being done by Dublin Zoo.

“Dublin Zoo is home to a group of Red Ruffed Lemurs, one of the species whose population in the wild has plummeted due to deforestation and cyclones. Dublin Zoo participates in the European breeding programme for the species and provides annual funding to the Lemur Conservation Association (AEECL), who protect lemurs in Madagascar.

“Zoos are playing a crucial role in protecting endangered species in partnership with conservation organisations on the ground. Out of the 14 primate species that live at Dublin Zoo, eleven are threatened with extinction, and we are supporting six organisations in range countries who are helping to ensure their long-term survival.”

Dr Russell Mittermeier, Chair of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group and lead editor of the report, said; “These primates are vital to ecosystems and human cultures. Their loss would be irreversible”.

Dr Andie Ang of Mandai Nature, Singapore, emphasised; "We have the science and the strategies—now we need political will and public support".

How You Can Help

• Support conservation organizations working to protect these species.
• Advocate for policies that reduce deforestation and wildlife trafficking.
• Share this report to raise awareness.

The full report is available here.