Primates

Primates are a diverse group and include between 300 – 400 species worldwide. This number varies depending on how they’re classified. If we including sub-species there could be more than 600 primate species in total. They are found primarily in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. This group as a whole faces many threats and almost half of all primates worldwide are threatened with extinction.

They range in size from the pygmy mouse lemur weighing in at just 30 grams to the largest, non-human member of the group, the gorilla weighing as much as 450 pounds. Primates are generally long-lived and produce few young during their lifetime. They have large brains relative to other mammals and display complex social interactions and behaviors.

Did You Know?

• Primates include humans, apes, monkeys, and prosimians.
• The ‘Great Apes’ which include the gorilla, orangutan, chimpanzee, and bonobo are all classified as endangered or critically endangered.
• Many species, such as the orangutan, are primarily arboreal or ‘tree-dwelling’, while others are terrestrial, spending most of their time on the ground. All, however, are adapted to climb trees.
• Primates are known for their ability to make and use “tools”. This was first observed by Jane Goodall in Africa when she observed chimpanzees modifying and using sticks as tools to collect termites.
• Primate species around the globe are threatened with extinction due to loss of habitat, poaching for bushmeat or other body parts for ‘medicinal’ purposes, the illegal pet trade, and infectious disease.

Famous Quotes about Primates:

• If we look straight and deep into a chimpanzee’s eyes, an intelligent self-assured personality looks back at us. If they are animals, what must we be? – Frans de Waal
• There is no reason to teach an ape to become human. There are many reasons to teach some apes and some humans to transition the worlds between the species boundaries, especially when our genetics are so similar as to make us ‘siblings.’ It is the way to learn how we become that which we are. – Sue Savage-Rumbaugh
• A century ago, people laughed at the notion that we were descended from monkeys. Today, the individuals most offended by that claim are the monkeys. – Jacob Appel
• I viewed my fellow man not as a fallen angel, but as a risen ape. – Desmond Morris

Learn More:

• Primate Facts
• Threats on Primates
• Primate Conservation
• Gorillas
• Orangutan