A new report has discovered that 50% of the world's apes could soon be extinct. The Primates in Peril report was compiled by 85 experts from across the world and revealed that 48% of the world’s 634 species of primate are in trouble.

The top 25 most-endangered primates includes five species from Madagascar, six from Africa, 11 from Asia and three from Central and South America.

There are thought to be fewer than 100 northern sportive lemurs left in Madagascar as their habitat is being destroyed.

In Vietnam and Cambodia up to 90% of gibbons, monkeys and langurs could soon die out. In fact there are only 60 to 70 golden-headed langurs left on the island of Cat Ba, the only place they live in the wild. They’re being hunted for their use in Chinese medicine. The Sumatran orangutan is heading for extinction due to habitat loss from logging and the expansion of palm oil plantations.

It’s hoped the report will encourage national governments to do more to help protect the planets primates.
However, it’s not all gloom and doom. More than 50 new species of primate have been discovered since 2000 and conservation projects have led to a rise in the numbers of others, including the black lion tamarin and the gold tamarin.

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