Duke Primate Conservation 2025

 Ryan Pon 26 March 2025 Hoo Zoo Welcomes Eight Squirrel Monkeys as Conservation Ambassadors Squirrel monkeys at Hoo Zoo     Hoo Zoo in Telford, Shropshire, United Kingdom recently welcomed eight squirrel monkeys after a 250-mile journey from Port Lympne Safari Park in Kent. To accommodate the troop, the zoo built a new habitat filled with plants, trees, and climbing structures, mirroring the monkeys’ rainforest environment. Zoo director Will Dorrell says the monkeys will be conservation ambassadors, helping educate visitors about the importance of rainforest conservation.       Squirrel monkeys are native to the tropical forests of Central and South America, living in large, complex social groups. While not currently endangered, they are considered vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to threats like deforestation in the Amazon and poaching for the illegal pet trade. Modern zoos help address these threats by providing educational platforms and naturalis...

  Deep within the rainforests of Indonesian Borneo, the calls of songbirds still reverberate through the treetops, a vanishing cadence in a world where rampant deforestation and the illicit wildlife trade have rendered many forests eerily silent. For the Indigenous Dayak Iban of Sungai Utik, these avian melodies are seldom mere natural soundscapes; they are sacred harbingers, celestial emissaries bearing ancestral wisdom. For over four decades, the community has tenaciously defended these birds and their imperiled habitat against existential threats. For the Dayak Iban, the fate of their forests is inextricably intertwined with that of their omen birds. Elders such as Hermanus Husin, a 66-year-old custodian of their traditions, emphasize the significance of interpreting avian calls—an ancient pratice that informs communal decision-making and portends future events. Safeguarding these birds necessitates the preservation of the sprawling rainforest that sustains them. Against the rel...

In recent years, the capture and trade of gibbons, primates, and exotic species has risen tremendously in Southeast Asia. In the past two years multiple seizures of gibbons have been reported at international borders where people have attempted to take these species across country border s. In fact, primatologist Dilip Chetry says that it is only in the last few years that primate trading has increased the most.   In particular, Northeast India has become a major hub for illegal wildlife trading. With many of the Indian states sharing borders with countries such as Bangladesh and Myanmar, it has allowed for gibbons and primates to be t ransported across the border. Furthermore, the terrain in these regions includes thick jungles which facilitates the trafficking and makes it more difficult to catch the smuggling.   The large interest in gibbons in primate trafficking has risen from a few sources in the past few years . Their physical features of large eyes and infant like...

Image Courtesy of MongaBay Global Agroforestry      The golden-headed lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) is a critically endangered species endemic to the Atlantic Forest in southern Bahia, Brazil. Over the past three decades, the tamarin’s habitat has shrunk by 42%, and its population has declined by about 60%, leaving only 16,000 to 21,000 individuals in the wild. This sharp decrease is largely due to habitat loss caused by deforestation, agriculture, and urbanization.      One key conservation strategy to protect the species is the cabruca system. The cabruca system is an agroforestry practice where cacao is grown under the canopy of native Atlantic Forest trees. This method not only supports cacao farmers but also provides an essential habitat for the tamarins. The golden-headed lion tamarins rely heavily on these biodiverse forest patches, as they sleep in hollow trees and forage for insects in bromeliads. However, the tamarin’s survival is thre...

Michel Lulo Primate Conservation March 9, 2025 Gorilla Killers Image by Julie Langford The recent Mongabay piece on Nigeria’s gorilla hunters by Orji Sunday reveals a complex relationship between cultural taboos, economic pressures, and illegal trade. At its heart are individuals like Dauda, who confessed to killing his first gorilla for desperately needed tuition money and went on to hunt more than ten before his conscience, and community rituals, finally made him stop. Other hunters speak of intense fear when first approaching a wounded ape, haunted by its human-like appearance and the spiritual condemnation that follows breaking centuries-old taboos. Still, the lure of fast cash from traffickers and traditional medicine practitioners can overshadow cultural prohibitions, while corrupt officials accept bribes to look the other way. Image by Orji Sunday Despite longstanding beliefs that once discouraged harming these animals, the promise of quick income has enticed some hunters to ris...

    Chanel is synonymous with "luxury" for many people across the world, but in Madagascar they were just another group trying to exploit an already impoverished people. In 2019, under the guise of environmental consciousness and "artisanal" mining, Chanel partnered with the local conservation NGO Fanamby to responsibly mine in a protected area.      The area Chanel targeted is called Loky Manambato, and is a IUCN Level V protected area. A level V protected area is a protected landscape or seascape in which the relationship between people and nature is mutually beneficial and both culture and nature need to be protected together. This means that people living in these protected areas continue to use natural  resources in ways that do not negatively impact the environment itself. Chanel decided to take advantage of the fact that the land had large amounts of gold and that they could hire the locals to mine for them. This was done under the guise of "artisana...

James Peng Professor Joseph Feldblum Are Oil Palm Plantations killing Baby Macaques?  An orangutan trying to fight a bulldozer razing a Forest In Southeast Asia, the rapid expansion of oil palm plantations has always been criticized for its impact on biodiversity. For instance, according to the Orangutan Foundation International, the establishment of palm oil plantations is a major cause of habitat loss for these great apes. Moreover, they are often brutally killed as agricultural pests by people inhabiting the plantations. A recent Current Biology study demonstrated another alarming consequence of these plantations the high mortality rate of infant southern pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) in Peninsular Malaysia. Over a 10-year longitudinal study at the Segari Melintang Forest Reserve, which covers both rainforest and oil palm plantations, researchers found that more than half (57%) of infant macaques born in the study group died before one year old. Using correlation ...

Davinder Josephson Dr. Feldblum Primate Conservation 7 March 2025 Deforestation Vigilantes Image by Nynai Quarmyne A recent article published by Mongabay News revealed increased logging encroachment into the remote Mengame Gorilla Sanctuary of Cameroon. The low human population density of the region makes it an ideal habitat for countless endangered species, including gorillas and chimpanzees. However, the Global Forest Watch platform, a network that monitors forest cover via satellites, recently noticed several deforestation alerts popping up around the edges of Mengame.  Action for Sustainable Development (ASD), a Cameroonian environmental organization, collaborated with villages around the region to identify the triggers for these alerts. The group found that forest clear-cutting for cacao and other crops was driving these spikes in deforestation. Community members pointed out that signs and distinct boundaries for Mengame had faded and been forgotten over time, and as...

  Lwiro Primate Rehabilitation Centre. (n.d.). Chimpanzees at the Lwiro Primate Rehabilitation Centre . Lwiro Primate Rehabilitation Centre. A recent decision by the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN) to relocate 12 juvenile chimpanzees from the Lwiro Primate Rehabilitation Centre (CRPL) to the Kinshasa Zoological Garden has raised concerns within the primate conservation community (Raman 2025). While the zoo claims it can provide adequate care, many argue that the move undermines the core principles of rehabilitation. Rehabilitation centers like CRPL focus on preparing primates for reintroduction into their natural habitats, something a zoo may not be equipped to do (Balmford & Whitten, 2021). Furthermore, the timing of the move, amidst the instability caused by ongoing conflicts in eastern DRC, raises questions about the safety and long-term welfare of the animals. The move seems more about centralizing control than addressing the needs of the animals t...

 Charlie Cooper 3/4/25 Mining for Gold, Losing a Unicorn The Rare Okapi. 1/5 of Okapi in the world live in this reserve.     In the Democratic Republic of Congo lies a 5,400 square mile Wildlife reserve named for the primary species it serves to protect: the Okapi. While the reserve serves to protect this rare, zebra-like animal, it is also home to the country’s largest population of forest elephants and the highest diversity of primate species in all of Africa. Not only home to an incredible array of wildlife, it also serves as important land for the forest people who live off of this land legally.  Unfortunately, over the last few years and especially in the past single year, deforestation related to gold mining practices and the region has risen. Not only an issue relating to forest cover, many of these gold mines use mercury in their process, releasing it into the river that flows through the reserve, poisoning the species that live off of it. The hol...