EU Taxpayers Contributing to Wildlife Slaughter & Bushmeat Trade

EU taxpayers may be inadvertantly contributing to the slaughter of wildlife and the bushmeat trade (You could be unknowingly contributing!) The EU recently funded the upgrade of a road in Cameroon that runs from the rainforest into the towns. Before, this road was not easy to travel, however now it provides poachers with an easy [...]

The Tools of Illegal Trade

It has to be acknowledged that hunting for bushmeat is a long-standing tradition in Africa. However, it used be a staple for men to feed their families, now it has expanded to an organised commercial trade to accommodate large scale workforces (usually of timber logging companies!) and communities in town and cities that choose to [...]

Killing Fields: Palm Oil Farming

Even though there is thousands of acres of abandoned farm land capable of reaping crops, Palm Oil farmers always prefer to use already live forests to grow plantations. This is because Palm Oil takes at least 5 years to begin producing, and the farmers use the profit from the timber sales to fund the [...]

Orangutan Slash & Burn

Economic crisis and human abuse of the forest has pushed the existence of the Orangutan closer to the brink than ever. They have lost no less than 80% of their habitat over the past 20 years through slash and burn methods to clear land for large Palm Oil plantations and logging.
The illegal pet trade also [...]

Refugees: Stripping Gorilla Habitat

Poaching isn’t the only problem facing the Gorillas in Zaire. Thousands of Rwandan refugees have been living in camps near the National Park, some of them responsible for killing rebel gunmen.
Zairan soldiers tried to force them back into Rwanda, but they only succeeded in driving them into the mountains of the Park, where they have [...]

Corrupt Ranger shoots Silverback

The Gorillas conservation issue not only rages on in the Congo, but also in Zaire, where earlier this year 2 adults, including the groups Silverback, were shot dead.
The shots came from a corrupt park ranger who had been paid by an illegal collector to capture a young male to sell on the black market. However, [...]

Humanising Matthew

Animal rights activists in Austria have been campaigning to get a 26 year-old Chimp legally declared a person, but had their hopes dashed when the court judge threw the case out recently.
The shelter which has been housing the Chimp – called Matthew Hiasl Pan – is to be closed down due to lack of funds. [...]

World Bank: Funding Forest Protection Scheme

The President of the World Bank has announced a new Forest Carbon Protection scheme, aimed at preserving forests and reducing global warming.
A $4 million fund has been set up to pay countries and/or companies that are currently logging to abandon their initiatives – a kind of compensation if you will. Not only will this [...]

Two Year-Old Ape: Found Rotting in Congo

Congolese park rangers have arrested 2 gang members suspected of Gorilla trafficking – advertising each individual for a sale of £8,000. However, they were too late to save a young ape found rotting in the forest, a female – probably the baby of one of those killed – thought to have been taken from the [...]

Chimp Aggression: Sierra Leone

Thirty-one Chimps escaped from their enclosure in a sanctuary in Sierra Leone and tragically malled one man to death and attacked four others. This is pertinent reminder to all of us that Chimps and other primates are wild animals and should remain that way.
The reason for their aggressive behaviour towards humans, is because the only [...]

George Bush: Absent from Emergency Climate Meeting

On the 25th September 2007, the UN General Secretary called an emergency Climate Change meeting after reports were released of an increase in gas emissions and melting Arctic ice caps. 150 world delegates were invited and all attended – EXCEPT George Bush. He did, however, find time to attend the social dinner afterwards.

Al Gore Calls for More Climate Talks

The former vice-president of the USA has announced he wants the World’s top leaders to meet every 3 months until a concrete plan is drawn up and agreed on to reduce dangerous the emissions causing global warming. At the moment leaders attend UN Climate Change talks, but Gore wants to see intermediate meetings as the [...]

Butchered Monkeys Found in Suitcase: USA

In 2003, a large suitcase containing the remains of 26 butchered monkeys was confiscated at a Boston Airport USA, on its way from Ghana. The 300lbs of raw meat was destined to be served as the main course at a wedding in New Hampshire!! “It was oozing out of its container” said Tom Healy of [...]

The Deforestation – Climate Change Link

Greenhouse gases may be having more of an impact on primates than originally thought. The push to swap from fossil fuels to biofuels has promtped huge desforestation of ecologically precious rainforests, also home to many endangered species, to make way for massive Palm Oil plantations. Not only is this an unrestrained destruction of thousands of [...]

Baby Bonobo Rescued

A new born baby Bonobo was rescued from poachers in a particularly troublesome spot in the Congo. BOTH parents had been killed for bushmeat, and they were trying to sell the baby as a pet.
Bonobo’s are only found in one part of the Congo – NOWHERE else in the world. They have become so rare [...]

Human Greenhouse Damage

American climatologist Michael Mann reported that the human race is spewing out greenhouse gases at a faster rate than ever, which is causing ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctic to melt at the quickest rate ever. If not tackled, these extreme temperatures and melting rates will cause seas to rise to dangerous levels and [...]

The Congo Catch 22

The Congo has become a main area of conservational importance, as it comprises one quarter of the world’s rainforest, 70% of Africa’s rainforest and half of Africa’s wildlife species. However, this also means it attracts large numbers of bushmeat rebels.
From here, approximately:

15,000 bushmeat carcasses pass through in a year, 293 of which are chimps
6,450 [...]

Population Hazard

Human activity has altered one third of the worlds surface, and a species is lost every 20 minutes – totalling 27,000 a year. However, more humans are born each day than total numbers of great apes on the planet.

Monkey Talk!

Chimpanzees, Gorillas and Bonobos are capable of intellectual performances once thought exclusive to humans due to their strikingly similar brains and nervous system.
These include obvious theory of mind in decision making (i.e. the understanding of other individuals train of thought), sophisticated group co-operation, and tool making and use. Some captive individuals have also been [...]

Dramatic cut in Chimp numbers

In 1900, Chimpanzee numbers were estimated at 1-2 million. Now, due to bushmeat hunting, habitat loss and illegal logging, the numbers have dropped to only 15,000 – that’s a loss of over 9,000 Chimps A YEAR. No population can withstand that sort of decimation, and if we do not act soon on the causes of [...]

Rare Mountain Gorillas shot dead by rebel fighters

The political turmoil in the Democratic Republic of Congo has proved to be fatal for more than the people of this war torn country. The Congo is home to Virunga National Park, which is supposed to be a safe haven for 340 of the remaining 700 Mountain Gorillas on Earth (the other 360 residing in [...]

Sierra Leone tackles illegal Chimpanzee trade?

From July 2007, it was declared illegal to capture and/or kill Chimpanzees in Sierra Leone by their Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Marine Rescources. One month’s grace has been given to current captive chimp owners to surrender them voluntarily before legal action is taken.
Sierra Leone has been a major exporter of Chimpanzees since the [...]

Biological Diversity goal a long way off

In 2002, the 188 countries that were party to the Convention of Biological Diversity established the following goal, which now after the release of the updated Red List, seems to be further off than ever:
To achieve by 2010, a significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity loss on global, regional and national levels.
Russell Mittermeier, [...]

IUCN Red List

The World Conservation Union [IUCN], releases a Red List of threatened and endangered species every 5 years. The data is gathered and evaluated by accredited organisations, and gives information on species numbers, distribution and conservation status, i.e. relative risk of extinction.
The up-to-date list was released last week, and has revealed 17 different species of Great [...]

The Jane Goodall Institute

Founded by the famous Primatologist, The Jane Goodall Institute reaches and contributes to many areas including ongoing educational projects, endangered animal sanctuaries, and African community projects.

Primates in Peril

According to a report released by the Primate Specialist Group of IUCN – The World Conservation Union’s Species Survival Commission (SSC) and the International Primatological Society (IPS), in collaboration with Conservation International (CI):
“Antananarivo, Madagascar (April 7, 2005) – Mankind’s closest living relatives – the world’s apes, monkeys, lemurs and other primates – face increasing peril [...]

Our Prime Concern

Prime Concern is dedicated to raising awareness of Endangered Primate Species. This blog has been set up to profile the founding and project development of awareness campaign and research initiative PrimeConcern. We hope to gather a collective interest from a global audience of scientists, animal behavioural experts, zoologists, researchers and social designers. Prime Concern will [...]