Future projects
This Section
We are planning on developing other pieces about different conservation issues and types of primate. These are a few that we have in various stages of development, if you have any ideas email them to us! If your conservation charity is looking for a new way to spread the message about a particular issue or species then check out our collaborators page.
Bonobos and biases in interpretation (Sixth form) - In development
Bonobos are part of the same family as chimpanzees. They are very gentle and
have a 'free love' attitude to mating. They enjoy making love for pleasure
as well as reproduction. There are tribal stories about bonobos where the
local people consider them to be the same as humans (which they are really!).
When they were first filmed by National Geographic thecamer crew turned
off the cameras
when
any
individual
displayed
a
sexual activity
and thus did not get very much footage. How do our own values affect what
we observe in other species and humans? How can we ensure that we do not
bias our own research? If we had discovered bonobos before chimpanzees
would we perceive ourselve differently? For more information on
the
hippy-ape visit the Bonobo Conservation Initiative website.
Slow lorises and the paradox of publicity and desirability (Families) - In development
Slow lorises are found in South East Asia. They are the world's
only venmous primate and they are at risk of extinction due to the high
level of wild-extraction to feed the pet trade and traditional medicine
trade. Despite little being known about them, when people have encountered
them they have found them charming and irresistible. This is one of the
reasons so many people want to have them as pets and things like Youtube
have allowed people to see cute videos of them further inflaming demand.
They have a bite that can cause severe damage to a human or another pet
and yet people still want to keep them. To read more see the Little Fireface project.
Lemurs and humans in conflict with nature (Years 5 & 6)
All over the world, where primates exist they are in conflict with humans.
In some places they are eaten or killed as pests. 
In
others their habitats are being destroyed or occupied by humans. They are
used in medicines and captured as pets. Some species can survive because
there are other habitats and great numbers of the species so they can live
somewhere else. In Madagascar there are habitats that are being destroyed
like the bamboo around Lac Alaotra. Urgent action is required to save this
habitat and hundreds like it for primates and other animals and plants across
the world. For more information about Madagascar and lemurs see Azafady.
Vervets and proactive conservation (Year 8 & 9)
Everyone
knows about the great apes like gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans and
there is a lot of money and energy put into conserving them. But far fewer
people outside of Africa know about vervets. These monkeys are classified
as Least Concern by the IUCN
and as such it is very difficult to find money or volunteers to help save
them.
They are considered to be pests across sub-Saharan Africa where they are found and in places are killed. If they continue to be treated in this way they will become endangered and already there are reported lower numbers of them in many different countries. Proactive conservation does not dismiss a 'common' species and wait for it to become endangered before trying to help. For more information on vervets and proactive conservation see Vervet.org
Black crested Sulawesi macaques and bushmeat trade (Indonesian families)
Sulawesi macaques are threatened by major loss of habitat and
they are intensively hunted for bushmeat. They are one of the IUCN's Top
25 Most Endangered Primates like the Roloway monkey. There has been a large
decline in the forest of their home in North Sulawesi and the local people
hunt them for food. We would like to develop a piece with Selamatkan Yaki a charity based in North Sulawesi trying to use environmental education to encourage
the local people to take pride in their wildlife and make them aware of
the situation to hopefully decrease the speed of the hunting of them for
bushmeat.
Hainan gibbons and population control (Year 10 or 11)
Endemic primates are only found in one place, which means they are of high conservation status since they are rare and easy to lose. China has several species of endemic primate. They also have a very large human population and they consume a lot of wildlife in terms of traditional medicines, pets and foods, including primates. As the population grows and spreads primates like Hainan gibbons are at risk of becoming extinct.
