topic: Primates

topic: Primates

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Illegal gold mining continues in Indonesia’s Aceh despite government crackdown pledge
- Residents in different districts across the Indonesian province of Aceh say gold mining activity in the interior of forest areas continues despite the province’s leaders agreeing a crackdown on illegal mining.
- Fuel shortages have been reported at local gas stations, which some attribute to demand from excavators working to unearth gold ore from inside forest areas.
- In August, Mongabay reported that gold miners had encroached in to a crucial reintroduction forest in Aceh for critically endangered Sumatran orangutans rescued from the illegal wildlife trade.
- Environmental advocacy group Walhi says there are more than 1,000 units of heavy equipment working at more than 450 illegal mining operations in Aceh, while a former provincial official said the government is aware of mining in around half of Aceh’s districts.

Ebola outbreak underscores food insecurity crisis in DRC
The recent Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus has reportedly claimed more than 3,000 lives, and more than twice as many reported cases, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the same time, analysts warn that roughly 26 million people across […]
Gold miners breach a crucial refuge for rescued Sumatran orangutans
- New analysis by Indonesia’s largest environmental pressure group shows illegal goldminers have encroached Indonesia’s Jantho forest reservation, a vital reintroduction site for the charity workers and state biodiversity officials trying to save the critically endangered Sumatran orangutan from extinction.
- Global investors have rushed to buy gold to maintain wealth against inflation and political instability, exacerbated by the Trump administration and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- The total area damaged by goldminers in Indonesia’s Jantho reservation according to satellite analysis exceeds 14 hectares (around 35 acres), equivalent to approximately 20 football pitches.
- A traditional administrator for the Jantho area in Aceh, a semiautonomous province of Indonesia, said 13 local villages had united against mining in the area, and had reported the miners to local authorities.

Indonesia charges 72 over fires as haze chokes Borneo and Sumatra
Indonesian authorities have charged 72 individuals with intentionally igniting forest fires across five provinces on the island of Borneo and four on Sumatra. Fires across both islands have burned nearly 286,000 hectares (about 707,000 acres) of land from January to Aug. 24 alone, according to FireWatch, a satellite-based monitoring tool developed by forest-mapping platform Nusantara […]
Why every endangered species needs a champion: a conversation with conservationist Bill Konstant
- Wildlife conservationist Bill Konstant has spent more than four decades helping build species-conservation programs, connect field biologists with funding, and support threatened wildlife around the world.
- Konstant argues that successful conservation often depends on strong local leadership, committed species champions, diverse teams and relatively small, strategically targeted grants that can launch or sustain field projects.
- He sees the growth of career biologists and conservation organizations in primate range countries as one of the field’s most encouraging changes, even as habitat loss and wildlife population declines remain persistent problems.
- Konstant spoke with Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler in August 2026 about his career, his memoir Wrestles With Wolves, and what decades of species conservation have taught him about how conservation succeeds.

Orangutan Day: Here’s where the three critically endangered species stand
Aug. 19 is World Orangutan Day, a day to honor the three species of Southeast Asian great apes, all of which are classified as critically endangered by the IUCN, the global conservation authority. Orangutans were classified into two species: The Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) found in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, and the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), […]
Steve Smit, South Africa’s “Monkey Man,” has died
- Steve Smit, known in KwaZulu-Natal as the “Monkey Man,” spent three decades rescuing and rehabilitating vervet monkeys and other urban wildlife.
- Before becoming a full-time rescuer, he spent roughly 25 years in South Africa’s intelligence services and helped build the country’s early animal-rights movement.
- Through FALCON, Justice for Animals, and later Monkey Helpline, he challenged elephant culling, wildlife trade, vivisection, and other practices he believed sacrificed individual animals.
- Smit, who died on August 12 at 70, became known for an uncompromising defense of animals that many people regarded as common, troublesome, or expendable.

Rescued from traffickers, reintroduced orangutan becomes mother in the wild
- Fieldworkers at the Jantho orangutan release forest in Aceh, Indonesia’s westernmost region, have recorded the 10th birth by orangutans successfully released back into the wild from a charity-run rehabilitation center.
- Indonesia’s forestry minister named the baby Badar, which means a full moon, and highlighted the need for consistent protection of orangutan habitats in Borneo and Sumatra islands, which are home to Indonesia’s three species of orangutan.
- However, a new study on Sumatran orangutan populations published in the September issue of “Global Ecology and Conservation” concluded that surviving populations likely declined by nearly 20% between 2011 and 2023.

Indonesia’s wildfire season surges as haze spreads into Malaysia
- Fires in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province have sent haze across the border into Malaysia, where worsening air pollution has forced six schools in Sarawak state to switch to online classes.
- Indonesia is entering the peak of its fire season, with West Kalimantan accounting for more than half of the nearly 49,000 hectares (121,000 acres) burned across six priority provinces as of Aug. 9.
- The fires are also threatening biodiversity, including orangutan habitat and rehabilitation efforts in West Kalimantan, while a separate blaze has forced the closure of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park on the island of Java.
- Authorities have deployed tens of thousands of personnel and dozens of aircraft to fight the fires, but environmental groups say funding cuts and the intensifying El Niño are raising concerns about Indonesia’s preparedness.

Nepal enlists AI to help fight against crop-raiding macaques
In a village in central Nepal, growing conflict between farmers and rhesus macaques has prompted researchers to test artificial intelligence-based systems that can swiftly detect and deter the monkeys, reports contributor Praveen Kumar Yadav for Mongabay. A 2026 study that followed rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in one central Nepal region, found that nearly half of […]
Cacao plantations in Liberia encroach into proposed Kwa national park
A cocoa boom in southeast Liberia is wiping out native forests and encroaching into a proposed national park. The would-be Kwa National Park, a dense tropical rainforest, is home to chimpanzees, forest elephants, pygmy hippos and pangolins. Kwa is partly located in Grand Gedeh county, one of the most densely forested regions in southeast Liberia. […]
New ropeways aim to save wildlife in Bangladesh’s fragmented habitats
- The Forest Department of Bangladesh has recently installed five ropeway bridges at a fragmented national park, with plans to replicate the idea in other vulnerable reserved forests.
- Pioneering conservationists have seen both successes and failures in previous ropeway-based projects.
- Researchers appreciate the Forest Department’s move but recommend well-assessed site selection, incorporation of modern equipment for sharper surveillance and community engagement.

What makes chimpanzee conservation last? Lessons from Sierra Leone
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. For more than three decades, Willie Tucker has helped care for Sierra Leone’s western chimpanzees and watched the pressures on them change, reports contributor Patricia Sia Ngevao for Mongabay. Tucker, widely known as “Pa Willie,” helped establish Tacugama […]
Flames reach edge of orangutan rehabilitation center, with fire season set to intensify
- A wildfire came within meters of an orangutan rehabilitation center in Indonesian Borneo, forcing emergency firefighting efforts to protect more than 60 rescued orangutans.
- The close call comes as a strengthening El Niño fuels fires across Indonesian Borneo, where prolonged drought and expanding land clearing are driving orangutans from their forest habitat.
- Conservationists warn that repeated fire seasons are undermining years of rehabilitation and habitat restoration work while increasing conflict between displaced orangutans and local communities.
- With fires spreading into Key Biodiversity Areas, experts say better fire prevention and stronger support for frontline conservation efforts are urgently needed.

Protecting primates could protect thousands of other species, study finds
As biodiversity on Earth faces rapid decline, scientists are advocating for a new conservation approach: Save habitat for primates and protect countless other species along with them. For long, conservation efforts and funding have prioritized umbrella species such as tigers and giant pandas on the basis that protecting the vast areas they depend on can […]
On the frontlines of conservation in Sumatra: Rangers safeguard Batutegi forest
- In southern Sumatra, a small team of forest rangers is racing to protect Batutegi forest, an important watershed and refuge for endangered wildlife such as tigers and slow lorises.
- Batutegi faces persistent pressures from forest encroachment and the need to balance conservation with local livelihoods.
- Experts say protecting Batutegi will require sustained collaboration with local communities, alongside long-term conservation and forest management efforts.

Amazon canopy bridges enable 15,000 wildlife crossings without a single roadkill
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Roads through Brazil’s forests divide primate habitat and sometimes force animals that normally remain in the canopy onto the ground. Researchers in the Amazon are testing rope bridges that allow them to cross above traffic. Eight bridges were […]
How rescued orangutans are rebuilding a new wild population in Sumatra
Sumatra — Fifteen years ago, Jantho Pine Forest Nature Reserve in Indonesia’s western Aceh province, on the island of Sumatra, had no orangutans. Today, it is home to a growing wild population, built almost entirely from rescued and relocated animals. Since 2011, conservationists from the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme have brought nearly 200 Sumatran orangutans […]
US declines to protect endangered monkeys used in medical research
Long-tailed macaques, monkeys native to Southeast Asia, have been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2022 after their populations declined by at least 50% over 30 years. Yet, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has twice now declined to consider protecting the species under the domestic Endangered Species Act. The most […]
Researchers find ‘priority zones’ for yellow fever vaccination of golden lion tamarins
- Golden lion tamarins, an endangered species of monkey endemic to Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, are susceptible to yellow fever: An outbreak in 2017-2019 wiped out roughly 30% of the population.
- A new study finds that certain environmental factors, including habitat connectivity and human population, were linked to higher numbers of deaths during the outbreak.
- Scientists have identified areas where tamarins could be at high risk for yellow fever transmission, which could help guide vaccination efforts and help protect the monkeys in the event of another deadly outbreak.

Women’s collectives are protecting Nigeria’s gorilla wildlife sanctuary
In the communities surrounding Nigeria’s Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, women’s conservation collectives are transforming the protection of a biodiversity hotspot that’s home to the critically endangered Cross River gorilla and endangered Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee. These collectives, operating in villages such as Ulom, Katabang and Buanchor in southeastern Nigeria, were born from a realization that traditional, male-led […]
Major orangutan study finds Sumatran population fell nearly 20% despite slower forest loss
- A new study estimates the Sumatran orangutan population declined by nearly 20% between 2011 and 2023.
- The researchers found that habitat loss alone cannot explain the declines, pointing to additional threats such as killing, conflict and habitat fragmentation.
- The study is the first comprehensive reassessment of Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutans since a landmark 2016 survey.
- The Forestry Ministry co-authored the study and says it will use the findings to guide conservation policy, marking a contrast with the previous administration’s public claims that orangutan populations were increasing.

Winners of the annual Mangrove Photography Awards: See the photos
In celebration of World Mangrove Day on July 26, the U.S.-based Mangrove Action Project (MAP) has announced the winners of its 12th annual photography awards. “Mangroves are the underdog. They will never be as glamorous as the Amazon rainforest or coral reefs. But through photography we can change that narrative, and intrigue people by showing […]
Zero roadkill as Amazon canopy bridges secure 15,000 crossings
- Project Reconecta installed eight rope bridges in a municipality in Brazil, and a 15-month study used camera traps to document thousands of arboreal wildlife adapting to new aerial crossings.
- Safe road passages enable seed dispersal and gene diversity, reversing the “domino effect” of biodiversity loss that begins when highways split habitats.
- Reconecta’s creator, biologist Fernanda Abra, a National Geographic Explorer and winner of the Whitley Award, is now expanding these low-cost conservation tools to other Brazilian biomes and neighboring Suriname.
- Brazil’s federal transport department has officially designated the rope bridge design as the recommended national standard for highways to curb the millions of wildlife deaths recorded on roads annually.

How Costa Rica’s extreme climate changes the social behaviors of white-faced capuchin
- For 33 years, a research team has studied white-faced capuchin monkeys in the tropical dry forests of Costa Rica, gathering data on their complex social lives.
- A new study from the team shows that during extreme climate events, large groups of capuchins may go hungry, while smaller groups may fare better.
- Climate extremes alter the physical landscape, causing animals to change their societal behaviors. For capuchins, this means greater competition for food, heightened territorial sensitivity and fluctuating group sizes.
- While capuchins can adapt to environmental changes over time, there are limits to their resilience, as seen during the severe droughts caused by the El Niño in 2014-2016, when dwindling food sources caused capuchins to abandon societal norms in search of food.

New colobus monkey, ‘Likweli’, confirmed in DRC
In 2008, wildlife researchers surveying a massive, underexplored forested region in the Democratic Republic of Congo photographed a black monkey. That region eventually became Lomami National Park. And now, nearly 20 years later, the team has confirmed in a study that the black primate is a new-to-science species of colobus monkey. The monkey isn’t well […]
Laos’s illegal wildlife shops keep growing despite enforcement, investigators find
- Illegal wildlife shopping sites targeting Chinese tour groups in Laos appear to have expanded despite recent law raids, with investigators identifying up to 35 suspected locations, nearly double the number Mongabay documented in 2025.
- Investigators say the shops, embedded in low-cost package tours, continue to pressure tourists into buying illegal wildlife products, while some restaurants are reportedly serving highly threatened pangolins to tour groups.
- Laotian authorities say they’ve seized illegal wildlife products and launched investigations, but conservation groups argue enforcement remains too limited to disrupt the broader network.
- Experts warn the trade could undermine Laos’s efforts to improve its standing under the global wildlife trade convention, and say a coordinated regional response is needed to prevent the business model from spreading elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Celebrating World Chimpanzee Day
Happy World Chimpanzee Day. On July 14, as the world celebrates one of humans’ closest living relatives, here’s a roundup of recent Mongabay stories about chimpanzees and their world: Chimps at war in Kibale National Park Chimpanzees, like humans, sometimes fight wars with each other. Mongabay contributor Keith Anthony Fabro reported on a chimpanzee (Pan […]
Small-scale farming, logging eclipse megaprojects as top threats to Tapanuli orangutan habitat
- A new study finds that while large-scale development projects have accelerated forest loss in a key orangutan habitat in Indonesia, small-scale agriculture and logging now account for roughly 70% of direct habitat loss.
- Researchers link the increase in clearing of the Batang Toru ecosystem to changing rural livelihoods, commercial banana farming, and widespread abuse of a legal community logging mechanism.
- The findings raise particular concern for Batang Toru’s eastern forest block, where continued habitat loss threatens one of the smallest and most vulnerable subpopulations of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan.
- The authors say protecting the species will require tackling both large development projects and the cumulative pressures from small-scale forest clearing, while expanding conservation beyond Indonesia’s formal protected areas.

Monkey vs machine: Nepal tests AI to fight crop-raiding macaques
- Nepal’s rhesus macaques are raiding crops across the mid-hills. A 2026 study found nearly half their diet in one region came from cultivated crops, and farmers bearing losses largely uncompensated.
- Researchers are testing AI-based detection systems, with one achieving around 88% field accuracy.
- Nepal’s compensation and relocation policies have struggled to keep pace with the conflict, and a 15-member government task force formed in May 2026 has yet to report, leaving farmers to guard their fields at dawn in the meantime.

Official tied to commercial breeding to represent US at global wildlife trade meeting
- Jennifer Chatfield, a top regulator at the U.S. Interior Department, will reportedly head the country’s delegation at the upcoming meeting of CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty, sources told Mongabay.
- The Animals Committee, a scientific body that influences regulations on wildlife trade, is meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 13-17. Delegations from 184 signatory nations and the EU will attend, along with NGOs and pro-trade organizations.
- Chatfield, a political appointee, has deep links to the commercial wildlife breeding industry: Her family owns and operates 4J Conservation Center in Florida, a facility that breeds two critically endangered species of lemurs, and she is listed as the facility’s veterinarian in documents obtained by Mongabay.
- The Interior Department’s ethics committee has been asked to investigate Chatfield for potential ethics violations and favoring family business related to permitting and proposed rulemaking that weakens the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Can a photo save orangutans?
In Indonesian Borneo, conservation organization KehatiKu is testing a new approach: paying local people to photograph wildlife and upload the sightings through an app. In just one year, the project has collected around 175,000 records. Participants can earn about $6 for a photo of an orangutan, while smaller payments are offered for more common species. […]
Conserving Sierra Leone’s western chimpanzees: Interview with Tacugama’s Willie Tucker
- Habitat destruction, illegal wildlife trade and climate change remain the leading threats to the western chimpanzee population in Sierra Leone.
- Through community livelihood programs including livestock and seed support, conservationists are trying to help reduce dependence on forests and hunting.
- In 2019, Sierra Leone designated the western chimpanzee as the country’s national animal, strengthening public awareness and support for conservation.
- Willie Tucker, camp supervisor of the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, spoke with Mongabay about the sanctuary’s work at the forefront of western chimpanzee conservation, as the facility currently cares for more than 100 western chimpanzees, many of which were rescued from private homes.

How effective are canopy bridges really?
When roads cut through forests, they can become a death trap for wildlife. Canopy bridges, structures that connect trees on either side of roads, are considered a crucial lifeline for tree-dwelling animals, but few researchers have examined their long-term effectiveness. A recently published study did just that, by analyzing three years of videos from camera […]
Lawmakers seek rights probe into Indigenous conflict at Indonesian timber firm
- Indonesian lawmakers have called for a government fact-finding investigation into alleged human rights abuses linked to a long-running land conflict between the Dayak Kualan Indigenous community and timber company PT Mayawana Persada.
- The community says the company cleared customary forests and sacred sites without its consent, while community leaders have faced criminal charges they describe as retaliation for opposing the project.
- The conflict coincides with one of Indonesia’s largest recent deforestation cases, with more than 42,500 hectares (105,000 acres) of forest, including peatlands and orangutan habitat, cleared inside the company’s concession since 2016.
- Indonesia’s human rights ministry says it will investigate the allegations, while lawmakers have urged police to halt criminal proceedings against community members and review the company’s operating permit.

The women leading a quiet conservation revolution in a Nigerian gorilla sanctuary
- Women’s conservation collectives in the communities surrounding Nigeria’s Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary are working to defend the wildlife, forests and rivers in a protected area that’s home to threatened gorillas and chimpanzees.
- Funded by membership dues, these groups carry out patrols, investigate wildlife crimes, and work collaboratively with traditional leadership structures to censure violators.
- One of the groups’ notable successes comes in ensuring that rules aimed at protecting the environment are upheld without bias or favoritism.
- The successes of the pioneering women’s collectives have inspired the formation of similar initiatives in other villages surrounding the sanctuary.

Dusky langurs start using new canopy bridge in Malaysia’s Penang Island
Endangered dusky langurs have successfully begun using a new artificial canopy bridge in a major tourism hub on Malaysia’s Penang Island. Camera traps set up by the Langur Project Penang (LPP) confirmed that the first dusky langur (Trachypithecus obscurus) crossed the bridge made out of old fire hoses on June 1, about two months after […]
Gelada monkeys huddle in the cold: Photo of the week
A group of geladas monkeys (Theropithecus gelada), pictured above, huddle to keep warm on a cold day in the Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart, Germany. Endemic to Ethiopia’s cold Afroalpine and sub-Afroalpine grasslands, the species is the only primate, apart from humans, that primarily lives on land rather than trees. They spend most of their time […]
Rewilding Rio: Conservationists restock an ‘empty forest,’ one species at a time
- Rewilding efforts in Tijuca National Park on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro have been reintroducing species previously extinct in the area, such as agoutis, howler monkeys, toucans, and now, blue‑and‑yellow macaws.
- The return of the animals is aimed at reviving the “empty forest,” since they’re essential for seed dispersal and regeneration of the Atlantic Forest.
- Studies show that toucans introduced in Tijuca 50 years ago have already reprised their ecological role, interacting with plant species from their original diet.
- Despite the progress, challenges persist, such as adaptation of the species to their new home; the latest to be released, the macaws, have had to be recaptured and are now undergoing new training.

Indonesia driver sentenced over organized crime group trafficking live orangutan
- A court in Sumatra’s East Aceh district court sentenced a 41-year-old farmer to three years in prison after he was found guilty in a wildlife trafficking case linked to international organized crime.
- Court documents show the farmer from East Aceh district accepted a delivery job driving a consignment in a small truck, and that he helped another individual transfer the protected wildlife at a meeting point in North Aceh district.
- Customs officials said they initiated an investigation following a tip from a member of the public. The customs office later said they believed the perpetrators intended to smuggle the animals to Thailand by boat from a small coastal village in Aceh.
- The presence of hornbills and numerous other species showed the animals were sourced from as far as eastern Indonesia, investigators said.

Leaked study warns of irreversible damage from iron ore mine in Guinea UNESCO site
- Ivanhoe Atlantic, a U.S. mining company, plans to mine iron ore in Guinea’s UNESCO-protected Nimba Mountains.
- Mongabay has obtained a copy of the confidential environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) currently being reviewed by Guinean authorities, which details extensive and irreversible damage to Nimba’s endemic and endangered species and critical habitats.
- The ESIA concludes that the planned mine risks causing “lasting and significant damage” to the adjacent World Heritage Site.
- The document’s findings also indicate the project might be breaching globally recognized environmental and social safeguards that Ivanhoe has publicly committed to.

Before tourists can see bonobos, trackers must earn their trust
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In Salonga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, researchers and trackers are working to habituate a group of about 60 bonobos. The aim is to help the great apes accept a limited human presence, first for […]
‘Rare animals, photography and Instagram’ could help an Ivorian rainforest
- In late May, Mongabay accompanied a group of conservationists and scientists to Taï National Park — a large rainforest in Côte d’Ivoire famous for its habituated western chimpanzees.
- Despite the presence of these charismatic apes, the park gets relatively few visitors, whose presence could help to support conservation efforts and deter poachers.
- Conservationists are now planning to promote niche tourism in the park and support work by the Ivorian Office of Parks and Reserves (OIPR) to protect Taï’s stunning biodiversity.
- Chimpanzee sightings are a major attraction for any visitor to the park, but other animals, including one of the world’s largest scorpions and Africa’s largest and rarest owl, could also prove to be a draw for those looking for an adventure-filled experience.

Old fire hoses become lifelines for Malaysia’s endangered langurs
On Malaysia’s Penang Island, conservationist Yap Jo Leen is turning old fire hoses into lifesaving bridges that help endangered monkeys cross busy roads in residential areas. The idea took root after she witnessed a female dusky langur and her infant get struck by a vehicle in 2016, Yap told Mongabay’s Phil Jacobson and AFP’s Isabelle […]
Apes can imagine too
Turns out imagination is not unique to humans. A series of experiments has shown that a language-trained bonobo was able to distinguish real from fake objects and engage in pretend play. Scientists sat down for a “tea party” with Kanzi to understand how the ape would respond to make-believe scenarios. The results have shown that […]
Côte d’Ivoire’s tree-climbing crocodile needs to be protected, scientist says
- On a recent visit to Taï National Park, in southwestern Côte d’Ivoire, Mongabay accompanied Ivorian environmental scientist Christine Kouman on a night-time boat trip up the Hana River.
- The river is home to Africa’s rarest crocodile, the critically-endangered West African slender-snouted crocodile.
- For more than a decade Kouman, whose work has been supported by Project Mecistops.
- Now the scientist, who cofounded the conservation NGO EBURCO, is working with others to ensure its rainforest habitat stays well protected.

Pulp and paper giant APRIL adds major deforesters as suppliers after revising sustainability policy
- The changes include lowering its deforestation cutoff date to the end of 2020, which allows APRIL to source wood from two companies responsible for some of Indonesia’s largest recent forest losses.
- APRIL says the move aligns with global standards and helps address fibre shortages caused by permit revocations affecting 15% of its wood supply.
- But critics say the changes weaken a longstanding no-deforestation safeguard and have questioned why APRIL selected these two suppliers among Indonesia’s many fibre producers.
- APRIL says its new suppliers will undergo satellite monitoring, compartment-level traceability and annual independent audits, but critics say transparency concerns remain.

In South Africa, a village learns to live with baboons — but it may be the exception
- A baboon troop regularly forages in the scrubland in and around the village of Rooiels, on the outskirts of the Cape Town metropolitan area.
- In neighboring villages, municipal workers fire paintball guns and blow trumpets to drive baboons out, but most Rooiels residents are opposed to having their troop monitored or harassed.
- Rooiels residents have developed — and accepted — guidelines to reduce conflict, including securing their waste, baboon-proofing their doors and windows, and educating each other on how to respond during encounters.
- Cape Town’s scientific lead for baboon management says education and collaboration has allowed baboons to coexist with their human neighbors here, but that this model may be specific to this location.

Climate-fueled landslides killed an estimated 58 Tapanuli orangutans, study finds
- The study found that landslides triggered by extreme rainfall in November 2025 likely killed about 7% of the estimated global population of Tapanuli orangutans.
- Researchers warned that without swift intervention, the species could face increasingly frequent climate-driven disasters in the future.
- The study only quantified direct mortality from landslides and did not account for deaths caused by canopy collapse outside mapped landslide areas, starvation, injuries or longer-term ecological consequences.
- In a statement to Mongabay, the forest ministry said it “appreciates and is taking into consideration” scientific studies on the Tapanuli orangutan, including research estimating the impacts of floods and landslides on the species.

Peter Klopfer, the scientist whose civil-rights case helped bring lemurs to Duke
- Peter Klopfer, a Duke zoologist and co-founder of the Duke Lemur Center, died on June 5 at 95.
- A Quaker pacifist and civil-rights activist, he refused the Korean War draft, supported student protesters in North Carolina, and was arrested during a 1963 integration protest.
- His Supreme Court case, Klopfer v. North Carolina, extended the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial to state courts.
- The legal-defense fund created after his arrest helped connect him with John Buettner-Janusch, leading to the arrival of lemurs at Duke and the creation of what became the Duke Lemur Center.

The quest to reconnect imperiled rainforest in West Africa
- Conservationists working with the official national parks agency in Côte d’Ivoire are planning to create an ecological corridor linking Taï National Park with Grebo National Park in neighboring Liberia.
- The corridor has support from the Ivorian village of Nigré, where residents will grow native trees alongside their crops to facilitate animal movements.
- Animals that will likely benefit include the bongo; like other antelopes in Taï, they are believed to play a key role in helping to disperse seeds to ensure forest regeneration.
- Stitching together the surviving parts of West Africa’s Upper Guinean rainforest could help ensure this ecosystem and its inhabitants thrive.

As human Ebola cases climb in DRC, critically endangered gorillas are at risk
- Gorillas are vulnerable to communicable diseases that infect humans and other nonhuman primates, including the Ebola virus.
- A new Ebola outbreak was announced in the Democratic Republic of Congo in mid-May, but so far, there have been no reported cases of gorilla infection. Previous outbreaks have devastated western lowland gorillas.
- Armed conflict hampers both conservation and efforts to monitor both Grauer’s and mountain gorilla populations in DRC. They also impair the public health response, which has also been seriously impacted by cuts in U.S. funding under the Trump administration.
- Gorillas are highly social animals, which facilitates spread of infectious disease. Infants and females are disproportionately affected, which has serious consequences for recovery of devastated populations.

Environmental group intervenes in lawsuit to help orangutans, tigers in Indonesia
- Indonesia’s largest environmental group, Walhi, has officially intervened in an environmental lawsuit filed by the government against major pulpwood producer PT Toba Pulp Lestari.
- Walhi says the lawsuit overlooks key ecological impacts, such as critical orangutan and tiger habitats, that should also be addressed through court-ordered restoration.
- TPL is one of dozens of companies whose forest-use licenses were revoked after their forest-clearing activities were blamed for exacerbating floods and landslides during torrential rains in late November 2025.
- Walhi is asking that any funds recovered from the lawsuit be directed toward environmental restoration activities on the ground.

Four years to earn their trust: Habituating bonobos in DRC’s Salonga National Park
- In the heart of Salonga National Park, one of Africa’s largest protected areas, researchers are trying to earn the trust of wild bonobos, one of the continent’s most endangered great apes.
- Conservationists say that habituation is a critical tool for protecting the species, allowing scientists to monitor their health, behavior and populations while strengthening long-term conservation efforts.
- As the Democratic Republic of Congo confronts a renewed Ebola outbreak in its eastern region, park officials acknowledge the ever-present risk of zoonotic disease transmission. However, when conducted under strict biosecurity protocols, bonobo habituation offers significant conservation, scientific and ecotourism benefits that outweigh the risks.

Confinement and disinfected bedding: An ape sanctuary in DRC responds to Ebola
- The Lwiro Primates Rehabilitation Center, located in South Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has gone into lockdown to protect its primates.
- Primatologists say Ebola transmission from infected wild primates to humans has been documented repeatedly but there are no recorded cases of transmission from humans to great apes.
- Emergency plans have also been activated to limit the spread of the virus in the protected areas of the Greater Virunga Landscape, a transboundary area shared among the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda.
- As of May 27, the World Health Organization has already recorded 223 suspected deaths linked to the current outbreak.

Chimpanzees vs. a mega railway
A massive railway project, The Simandou corridor, in Guinea is cutting through one of West Africa’s most important ecosystems. The Simandou corridor is fragmenting forests that are home to the largest population of endangered western chimpanzees, putting their survival at risk. But why is this massive railway project being built? Deep within Guinea’s forests lie […]
In Java, a women’s collective is helping save gibbons through forest-inspired textiles
- A group of women in Indonesia’s West Java province have become skilled printers on fabric using motifs derived from various plant species found in their local environment.
- Last year, Indonesian primatologist Rahayu Oktaviani received an award in recognition of her organization’s work with Java’s silvery gibbon, which included formation of the grassroots printing collective.
- The most recent assessment estimates fewer than 4,500 Javan gibbons remain in the wild, with half of the world’s Javan gibbon population living in the national park contiguous to the site of the Ambu Halimun initiative.

The global trafficking ring preying on a rare golden monkey from Brazil
- A growing interest among wildlife traffickers’ interest in golden lion tamarins threatens one of Brazil’s iconic endangered animals.
- Seizures in Togo, Suriname and in the Brazilian Amazon reveal sophisticated criminal networks that control international routes, sometimes using forged documents.
- Behind one of these criminal organizations is a man with multiple forged passports that subjected 20 tamarins to a 40-day voyage across the Atlantic.
- Some tamarins are smuggled; traffickers also use loopholes in wildlife trade rules to launder wild-caught animals within captive-bred shipments.

Report alleges élite ties behind logging permits in Cameroon’s Ebo Forest
- A report by a Swiss advocacy group says a timber company logging Cameroon’s Ebo Forest is tied to a wider network of political élites in Yaoundé.
- The company, Sextransbois, is part of a network of logging and agriculture interests owned by prominent businessman Aboubakar Al Fatih.
- Corporate registry documents analyzed by the group show that Sextransbois was incorporated by relatives of President Paul Biya’s eldest son before being transferred to Al Fatih’s half-brother in 2014.
- Environmental groups have accused a number of companies owned by or linked to Al Fatih of breaking Cameroonian law.

Most wildlife AI focuses on the ground. This model looks up in the trees
- Scientists have developed a new artificial intelligence model that can detect and identify tree-dwelling species.
- TropiCam-AI can recognize 84 taxa, including 63 species, with the tool showing an accuracy of 95% with the majority of the taxa.
- AI is widely used to automate the detection of animals from camera-trap data sets that can run into millions of images.
- However, the existing AI models developed for this purpose focus primarily on ground-dwelling animals, with tree-dwelling species largely overlooked.

Building bridges for human-wildlife coexistence: Interview with Yap Jo Leen
- Conservationist Yap Jo Leen launched the Langur Project Penang after witnessing dusky langurs, an endangered monkey she was studying for her Ph.D. research, getting struck by vehicles on Malaysia’s Penang Island.
- Since 2019, her group has built three canopy bridges made from repurposed fire hoses to help langurs and other tree-dwelling wildlife safely cross busy roads, with no recorded langur roadkill deaths at the first bridge site since its installation.
- The project combines wildlife conservation with citizen science and environmental education, training volunteers to track langur movements, collect ecological and social data, and work with local communities to reduce human-wildlife conflict.
- Yap says the long-term goal is not simply to build more wildlife bridges, but to foster a broader culture of coexistence and community stewardship for urban wildlife across Malaysia.

Slow lorises struggle to survive in the wild after captivity
The wild can be a “death trap” for rescued slow lorises, one of the world’s most trafficked primates, according to a recent study, reports Mongabay’s Carolyn Cowan. Researchers followed the fate of nine confiscated Bengal slow lorises (Nycticebus bengalensis) released into Lawachara National Park in Bangladesh. Six months later, only two individuals were surviving; several […]
Gunmen kill two rangers in latest deadly attack in DRC’s Virunga National Park
Gunmen have killed two rangers in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the latest deadly attack in a region roiled by militia violence. Park sources said a heavily armed group opened fire on a control post at Kamuhororo, on the southern shore of Lake Edward inside Virunga, early on May 21. Kasereka […]
In Malaysia, a bridge helps endangered langurs and humans coexist
In Malaysia’s Penang state, conservationists and residents are collaborating to reduce conflict between humans and endangered dusky langurs displaced by urban development and habitat loss. The Langur Project Penang built a canopy bridge to help langurs safely cross a busy road and access more habitat, reducing time spent in residential areas and lowering complaints from […]
Paying people to see wildlife: Inside a $1-per-hectare conservation experiment in Borneo
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Stop telling people to protect wildlife. Start paying them instead. That’s the idea in a new experiment in Kapuas Hulu district, in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, which is testing whether conservation can be made to work with local […]
Endangered golden-headed lion tamarin: Photo of the week
The golden-headed lion tamarin, captured in the photo above, is a small primate species found only in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. The tamarins, Leontopithecus chrysomelas, have bright reddish-golden manes, and similarly colored paws and tails. They live among tree branches, eating fruit and the occasional bird egg or small vertebrate. They sleep huddled […]
In the Nimba Mountains, a film examines the paradox of mining-funded conservation
- The Nimba mountain range, which lies at the border of Liberia, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire, is one of the most biodiversity-rich regions of West Africa.
- Home to western chimpanzees and other threatened species, it is also the site of some of the world’s highest-quality iron ore deposits.
- “Overburden,” a film produced by researchers and academics, explores the impact of mining on the Nimba range, and its increasingly close relationship with conservation.

Conservationists fear fires could erase years of orangutan habitat recovery
- Fires have burned part of a restoration site being prepared for orangutan habitat in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, raising fears that another severe fire season could undo years of recovery work.
- The restoration project, led by the government, Yayasan IAR Indonesia and local communities, has replanted about 300 hectares (740 acres) with 150,000 trees to help keep critically endangered orangutans out of nearby farms.
- Conservationists say the fires, likely sparked by nearby land clearing for oil palm, spread rapidly through dry peat and scrub vegetation, despite the area still being in the rainy season.
- With severe El Niño conditions forecast later this year, conservation groups warn they lack sufficient resources to fully prepare for another major fire season like the devastating 2015 crisis.

Brazil police seize devices from bird expert in trafficking probe linked to Vantara zoo
- The famous bird specialist Tony Silva had cell phones and a computer seized by Brazil’s Federal Police at Guarulhos Airport, in São Paulo, according to a source familiar with the investigations.
- Silva is suspected of coordinating the illegal purchase of endangered animals for Vantara, a private zoo in Gujarat, India.
- A Vantara spokesperson denied the allegations, stating that Tony Silva engaged with the organization as “an independent contractor for limited consultancy.”
- Run by India’s wealthiest family, the zoo has been the focus of investigations regarding the origin of its animals, which haven’t led to prosecutions.

A new documentary film captures rare mountain gorilla behavior
“That might be something that you see in a decade, not in two years of filming,” Tara Stoinksi, CEO of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, tells me. The behavior she’s referring to occurs in mountain gorilla groups, such as a “dominance transfer,” where a younger male silverback takes over leadership from an older male, and […]
Facebook is a hub for illegal wildlife trade, and that’s by design, report says
- Online sales of wildlife products from protected species are booming on Facebook. The platform hosted more than three-fourths of the 22,000 wild animals and their parts known to be sold online between April 2024 and March 2026, valued at $65 million, according to a recent report.
- Researchers found that about 84% of animals for sale on Facebook are banned from commercial cross-border trade under an international treaty. More than half of them were endangered or critically endangered species.
- Facebook’s architecture — its closed groups, anonymous users, content monetization and algorithms that push related content to users — makes it a go-to platform for traffickers, researchers say. The platform’s official policy bars the sale of wildlife, but the volume of animals offered for sale point to poor moderation.
- To combat this massive online trade, experts call for stricter regulation of content on Facebook and other platforms, as well as better oversight and increased collaboration between online platforms and law enforcement.

Singapore’s population of Raffles’ banded langur has doubled
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In a forest reserve on the edge of Singapore, volunteers spend hours scanning the canopy for a primate they may not see. The exercise points to a simple constraint of conservation in a dense city: most habitats are […]
Endangered Javan gibbon baby born in UK rare species sanctuary
A rare Javan gibbon was born at a wildlife park in the U.K., one of the world’s main centers for the species’ captive breeding. Lima, now just over 2 months old, is a potential candidate for returning to the species’ native habitat on the Indonesian island of Java. The Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch), known locally […]
Amid conflict and poaching, tech helps boost mountain gorilla numbers
- Mountain gorillas face serious threats as they lose habitat and are stalked by poachers, but populations have jumped by 73% since 1989, now numbering an estimated 1,063.
- A mobile tool called SMART is helping forest guards and conservationists collect data to better track and protect the apes and other wildlife.
- But budgets are tight; more staff, field equipment and data collection devices are needed, conservation experts say.
- The current security situation across the transborder region between Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo is a significant concern, both for forest rangers and gorillas.

Citizen science helps reconnect Singapore treetops for elusive leaf-eating langurs
- Singapore’s fragmented forests are home to a small population of Raffles’ banded langurs, one of the world’s most threatened primates.
- Citizen scientists are helping conservationists protect the arboreal species across the island’s densely urbanized landscape.
- By collecting long-term and consistent data in known strongholds, volunteers have identified langur food plants and movement corridors, boosting efforts to enrich and reconnect their habitats.
- The citizen science program has also built public awareness of the elusive species, one of only three primates left in Singapore, an outcome experts hope will rouse wider support for biodiversity protection amid intense development pressure.

To tackle trafficking in gibbons, experts probe what drives demand
- As gibbon trafficking reaches record highs, conservationists say reducing demand is critical to tackling the illegal trade.
- But motivations for wanting to buy a gibbon vary widely between buyer communities, which means the solutions must be tailored accordingly, experts say.
- Surveys of people who voluntarily surrendered gibbons to a sanctuary in Malaysia found that most cited as motivation a love of animals or desire for their children to have an animal to play with.
- In India, by contrast, a sanctuary manager says gibbons are coveted as status symbols, and most arrive at the center via confiscation rather than voluntary submission.

Studying the world’s largest gathering of forest elephants with sound and field observation
- At Dzanga Bai in the Central African Republic—one of the few places where forest elephants gather in large numbers—researchers can observe behaviors that are otherwise difficult to document in dense rainforest.
- Ivonne Kienast leads long-term research combining direct observation with acoustic monitoring, building a detailed record of elephant behavior, social structure, and change over time.
- Her work highlights how sustained presence, local collaboration, and incremental data collection shape understanding of both elephants and the broader forest system they inhabit.
- Kienast spoke with Rhett Ayers Butler, Mongabay founder and CEO, and David Akana, director of Mongabay Africa, over two weeks of conversations in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo during March 2026. Her responses have been edited and consolidated.

Rehab center opens for Brazil’s golden-headed lion tamarins amid urban sprawl threat
Brazil has opened its first rehabilitation center for golden-headed lion tamarins, an endangered monkey species threatened by urban expansion and the loss of agroforestry farms to monocrop plantations. The tamarins, Leontopithecus chrysomelas, have been filmed in and around Ilhéus, a coastal city in Bahia state, eating fruit inside a supermarket or running across high-voltage electricity […]
Chimp ‘civil war’ follows rare community split in a Ugandan national park
- A 30-year study documents a rare split within a chimpanzee community in Uganda’s Kibale National Park — one that sparked a deadly war.
- Two rival chimp groups have staged coordinated raids that killed both adult males and infants.
- Researchers recorded at least 24 attacks between 2018 and 2024, suggesting unusually intense violence.
- The findings show how shifting social ties can fracture animal societies and trigger collective violence.

A chimpanzee’s rhythmic drumming with floorboards hints at origins of instruments
- A captive chimpanzee in Japan spontaneously ripped floorboards from a walkway and used them as instruments to perform structured, rhythmic drumming displays while vocalizing
- Researchers recorded 89 performances and found the drumming wasn’t random and followed a structured, rhythmic pattern similar to chimpanzee vocal calls.
- The chimp displayed play faces and what appeared to be laughter while drumming, suggesting the behavior was emotionally rewarding, not just a social display.
- The findings support the hypothesis that instrumental music may have evolved from vocal emotional expression, though the study is limited to a single individual in a captive setting.

See an orangutan, take a photo, earn some money: A viable conservation model?
- KehatiKu, a conservation program in Indonesian Borneo, pays citizen observers to document wildlife sightings and upload them via an app.
- Payments vary by species, with the highest rate, around $6, paid for verified orangutan sightings. Dedicated observers can make more than they would be paid at a full-time job.
- By paying citizen observers directly, the program aims to gather data on wildlife and incentivize conservation while spending much less than conventional conservation projects.
- The program has collected around 175,000 records in its first year of operations, but one expert notes that it has historically proven challenging to keep people engaged in long-term conservation initiatives.

Primate Planet
Across the tropics, a growing movement is working to secure a future for primates in the face of disease, deforestation and wildlife trade. Reporting from across the planet, this video series highlights how scientists, conservationists and local communities are rebuilding populations and reconnecting fragmented forests. Along the way, it reveals the innovation, collaboration and resilience […]
A reforestation corridor in Madagascar offers a future for lemurs and locals
- A reforestation corridor project aims to reconnect 150 hectares of fragmented forest between Andasibe-Mantadia National Park and the Analamazoatra Special Reserve, home to a dozen lemur species and many other animals and plants that are found nowhere else on Earth.
- Led by the Mad Dog Initiative in partnership with The Dr. Abigail Ross Foundation for Applied Conservation, Association Mitsinjo and Ecovision Village, the project represents a unique convergence of science, private investment and community action.
- The project has already planted more than 100 native tree species across 70 hectares, a portion of which were grown in soil inoculated with mycorrhiza, with seedlings showing high survival and growth rates. Even in its early stages, lemurs are using the corridor.
- To address local challenges and increase the chances of long-term restoration success, project partners are investing in ecotourism, health care and education, among other strategies.

George Schaller: The field biologist who helped redefine conservation
- Miriam Horn’s Homesick for a World Unknown traces the life of George B. Schaller, a field biologist whose work reshaped how animals are studied and understood.
- The book portrays a scientist defined by patience, close observation, and a disciplined effort to understand animals on their own terms, even as such an approach ran against prevailing scientific norms.
- Horn presents Schaller’s career across continents as both scientific and practical, showing how his research informed the creation of protected areas while gradually incorporating local knowledge and participation.
- Rather than probing for psychological insight, the biography mirrors its subject’s outward focus, offering a restrained account that raises broader questions about attention, conservation, and what it means to share a world with other species.

Defying conflict to track the world’s rarest chimpanzees
GASHAKA GUMTI NATIONAL PARK, Nigeria — Here in Nigeria’s largest protected wilderness area lies one of the last strongholds of the Nigeria–Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti), the world’s rarest chimpanzee subspecies. For nearly a decade, however, this population has lived largely out of sight. Once a leading hub for field research in West Africa, Gashaka […]
Colombia’s main river redraws the map of little-known night monkeys
- A new study looks at genetic evidence to suggest that Colombia’s Magdalena River, and not the Andean massif, may be the true boundary separating two near-identical species of nocturnal primates.
- Night monkeys from the genus Aotus, the only nocturnal primates in the Americas, have remained largely invisible to both the public and the scientific community, says the study’s main author.
- Experts in the field say this discovery could fundamentally reshape national conservation maps and protection strategies for night monkeys.

The mother of orangutans
Dr Birutė Galdikas spent almost 50 years studying solitary and elusive orangutans in Borneo, at a time when no one believed it possible. Her pioneering work transformed scientific understanding of the great apes and their behavior. She passed on March 24 at the age of 79. Dr. Galdikas was one of three women who revolutionised […]
In zoos, ‘peaceful’ bonobos are just as aggressive as chimps, study suggests
A new study of our two closest living relatives finds that, at least in zoos, bonobos may not be more peaceful than chimpanzees. Bonobos (Pan paniscus) are only found south of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where food is abundant and evenly distributed. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) range across West, Central and […]
An invasive guava is muscling out Madagascar’s forests — and lemurs are helping
- The island of Madagascar is a hotspot for animal and plant biodiversity, but since the 1950s it has suffered high rates of deforestation.
- Once damaged, these forests are susceptible to takeover by a nonnative plant invader, the strawberry guava tree originally from Brazil.
- The guavas produce delicious fruit that the lemurs relish and whose seeds the lemurs themselves help to spread.
- Conservationists say forest restoration, critical to the survival of lemurs, needs to take into account the pernicious effects that strawberry guavas have on the ecology of forests — both those that are still intact, and those that are being restored.

‘Extraordinary’: Second set of rare mountain gorilla twins born in DRC’s Virunga
Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo recorded the birth of a second set of mountain gorilla twins this year. According to park authorities, the twins were born into the Baraka family and are believed to be a male and a female, now about 2 weeks old. Their arrival follows a twin birth […]
Birutė Galdikas, primatologist who spent a lifetime studying & defending orangutans, has died at 79
- Birutė Galdikas established one of the longest-running field studies of any wild mammal, helping to transform scientific understanding of orangutans and their behavior.
- Her work combined research with hands-on rehabilitation, returning hundreds of orangutans to the wild while navigating debates over the role of intervention in field science.
- As Borneo’s forests declined, she expanded her efforts into conservation, founding an organization and working with local communities to protect habitat under growing economic pressure.
- As part of the “Trimates”, a group of female researchers recruited by Louis Leakey, she helped bring great apes into public view and frame orangutans as emblematic of broader environmental loss.

Palm oil clearing advances in Bornean orangutan habitat despite red flags
- A palm oil firm has cleared more than 3,000 hectares (7,500 acres) of forest inside a UNESCO biosphere reserve in Indonesian Borneo, threatening areas identified as orangutan habitat.
- The concession overlaps with a wildlife corridor linking two national parks, raising concerns over habitat fragmentation and increased human-orangutan conflict.
- Authorities have acknowledged the presence of the habitat inside the company’s concession, but proposed voluntary conservation measures rather than halting clearing, drawing criticism from environmental groups.
- The case highlights broader issues of weak enforcement, disputed land rights with Indigenous communities, and supply-chain loopholes that continue to allow deforestation-linked palm oil into global markets.

Proboscis monkey found in Thailand adds to evidence of cross-border illegal trade
- In January, an injured proboscis monkey was found near a railway track in Thailand’s Samut Sakhon province and brought to a nearby clinic.
- Proboscis monkeys are an endangered species endemic to Borneo, and international trade is banned except for research or conservation purposes — no permits that would allow such trade exist for the species in Thailand.
- Historically, trafficking for pets or zoos has not been a major threat to proboscis monkeys because it is very difficult to keep them alive in captivity, but recent research has found an uptick in live trade of the species.
- The monkey is currently recovering from its injuries at a government-run rehabilitation center, and while he will never be able to live in the wild again, officers there say he may be transferred back to his native range once his health is stable.

World Rewilding Day: Hope for species and ecosystems
World Rewilding Day on March 20 celebrates human efforts to rewild and restore degraded areas. Rewilding can focus on a single species, a city park, or even an entire island, and Mongabay has reported on such efforts from around the word. Rewilding in France’s Dauphiné Alps France’s largest rewilding project is underway in the Dauphiné […]
Facebook shuts Indonesia groups after Mongabay and Bellingcat report illegal wildlife trade
- Facebook parent company Meta has closed nine groups on the social network after reporters from Mongabay and Bellingcat found evidence of illegal wildlife trade being conducted openly on the platform in Indonesia.
- In one Facebook group, reporters last year found an advertisement for a rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros), a protected species.
- “Bad actors constantly evolve their tactics to avoid enforcement, which is why we partner with groups like the World Wildlife Fund and invest in tools and technology to detect and remove violating content,” Meta said in a statement.

A bonobo named Kanzi could play pretend, challenging ideas about animal imaginations
- Kanzi, a language-trained bonobo, identified and tracked pretend objects across tea party-like experiments, marking the first controlled demonstration of imagination in a nonhuman animal
- In three experiments, Kanzi repeatedly pointed to the correct location of imaginary juice and grapes, and chose real juice over pretend juice, showing that he understood the difference between real and imaginary objects.
- This study suggests that the cognitive capacity for imagination may date back 6 to 9 million years to the common ancestor of humans and great apes, though some researchers question whether simpler explanations could account for Kanzi’s responses.
- Kanzi died in March 2025 at age 44, but researchers hope to explore whether other apes, including those without extensive human language training, share this capacity.

Indonesia’s orangutan trafficking cases reveal need for a change in approach (commentary)
- Indonesia needs a new approach to illegal wildlife trafficking that does more than intercept and repatriate animals to their home habitats, a new op-ed suggests.
- Seizures of trafficked orangutans have been in the news often lately, and the nation needs to make trafficking of animals such as these unprofitable, unviable and socially unacceptable.
- “Repatriation brings (trafficking) victims home, but it should never become a routine that normalizes the crime. If a country celebrates each return while shipments keep moving through the next gap, it is responding, never preventing,” he argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

David Chivers, student of the singing apes
Field primatology expanded rapidly in the late 20th century as biologists began to study apes and monkeys where they lived rather than only in museums or laboratories. Southeast Asia’s rainforests became an important setting for that shift. Among the researchers who helped shape the discipline there was David Chivers, a British primatologist whose work […]
Across South America, canopy bridges evolve as a lifeline for tree-dwelling wildlife
- In the Amazon and Atlantic forests, field research is seeking new ways to understand the behavior of mammals like monkeys and sloths that depend on the treetops to move around and survive in different types of vegetation.
- Using photographic equipment on artificial bridges — whose ropes, nets and platforms are intertwined with trees to protect wildlife — researchers are mapping fauna in both continuous forests and fragmented areas, providing new scientific insights.
- Experts working to reduce the risks of roadkill and species’ isolation in fragmented forest areas say studies are crucial to improving the installation of artificial crossings over highways.

Cameroon’s decade of conflict leaves apes and conservationists in peril
- Dozens of protected areas in Cameroon’s anglophone regions, including parks that are home to great apes and other threatened species, have been swept up in a decade-long armed conflict between government forces and separatist militias.
- The ongoing conflict has blocked conservationists’ access to forests, and exposed conservationists, local civilians and the region’s wildlife to violence.
- Displaced people have turned to farming and hunting in forests in order to survive, while militias also hunt and camp in the forest.
- Conservationists have explored new strategies to keep their work alive, including working with local citizen scientists, but say the task of rebuilding organizations in the midst of a humanitarian crisis is huge.

Out of captivity, into conflict: slow lorises struggle to survive after release
- A study in Bangladesh found that seven of nine rescued Bengal slow lorises died within six months of release, showing that rewilding trafficked animals can become a “death trap” if habitat and social conditions aren’t right.
- Most of the dead lorises bore venomous bite wounds from their wild counterparts, indicating that releasing highly territorial animals into already occupied forests can trigger lethal fights.
- The two that survived established larger home ranges, while those kept longer in captivity fared worse, underscoring the need for careful site selection, population surveys, and evidence-based release protocols.
- Experts say that rescue and release only address the symptoms of illegal wildlife trafficking, and that curbing poaching and habitat loss is essential to prevent further harm to both individuals and wild populations.

Baby gorilla seized from traffickers languishes in Turkish zoo
- Türkiye has refused to return a western lowland gorilla named Zeytin, who was smuggled out of Africa a year ago; Turkish authorities seized him as an infant from the cargo hold of an airplane headed to Bangkok.
- The decision marks an about-turn in Türkiye’s plans to return him to Africa, where he’d be in a Nigerian sanctuary with other gorillas, after a DNA test ruled out Nigeria as his country of origin. Turkish authorities announced he will remain in the country permanently.
- Gorillas are social animals that live in family groups, and with no other gorillas in the country, conservationists worry Zeytin will be doomed to a life of isolation in a zoo.
- Conservationists urge Turkish officials to reconsider their decision and send the baby gorilla to a sanctuary in Africa as soon as possible so he has a better chance of possible release into the wild.

Risk-taking comes earlier in chimpanzees than in humans, study finds
- A study found that chimpanzees tend to take more physical risks as infants and young animals rather than as adolescents, like humans.
- The researchers hypothesize that the level of care humans provide may cut down on the risks young children might otherwise take.
- The team tracked how often 119 chimps dropped or leaped through the forests without holding onto any branches at Uganda’s Ngogo Chimpanzee Project, and analyzed the results according to the animals’ ages.
- Infant and young chimpanzees were more likely to launch themselves through the trees than adolescents or adults, despite the risk of injury.

Study ties same-sex behavior in primates to ecological and social pressures
- A recent study into same-sex behavior in primates finds that social organization and ecological factors, including climatic conditions, influence this behavior.
- In gorilla groups, same-sex relations can help strengthen social bonds, study lead author Chloë Coxshall told Mongabay, reducing competition and facilitating access to mates and resources.
- Gorilla groups typically consist of a dominant adult male, several adult females, and their offspring. If the dominant male has the exclusive right to mate with all females of the same group, sometimes this polygamy pushes the females to leave this family to look for other females with whom they develop intimate relationships, Malagasy primatologist Jonah Henri Ratsimbazafy said.
- Same-sex behavior doesn’t appear to have the same place in the lives of different primate species or even at various times for the same population, the study suggests. So species-specific research is needed, according to the study authors.

Indonesia revokes forest and mine permits over role in deadly Sumatra landslides
- Indonesia has revoked the permits of 28 companies after a post–Cyclone Senyar audit found environmental violations that authorities say worsened deadly floods and landslides in Sumatra in late 2025, which killed about 1,200 people.
- The revoked permits cover about 1 million hectares of forests and include major players such as pulpwood producer PT Toba Pulp Lestari, marking a shift toward framing permit enforcement as post-disaster accountability.
- Two high-profile projects in the Batang Toru ecosystem were hit: a nearly completed hydropower plant and the Martabe gold mine, both long criticized for operating in landslide-prone terrain that’s the only habitat of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan.
- Environmental groups have welcomed the revocations, but warn the move is incomplete, calling for transparency, ecosystem restoration, protection against permit transfers to new operators, and broader action to halt deforestation in vulnerable watersheds.

For two of the world’s most at-risk primates, threats abound and the future looks grim
- Preuss’s red colobus is found in two populations in West Africa — roughly 3,000 individuals in the Korup–Cross River forest block and none confirmed in the Yabassi Key Biodiversity Area for more than a decade — and faces intense pressure from hunting and habitat loss.
- The Bangka slow loris, restricted to Bangka Island in Indonesia has not been systematically studied for decades and has suffered extensive habitat loss from mining and forest conversion.
- Proper field studies and conservation approaches used for other slow loris species could provide a road map for assessing and protecting the Bangka slow loris.
- For Preuss’s red colobus, a regional action plan is advancing in Nigeria, where monitoring and community outreach are underway, but implementation in Cameroon has been hampered by ongoing civil unrest around Korup National Park.

Indonesia sues 6 companies over alleged links to deadly floods & landslides
- Indonesia’s environment ministry is seeking 4.8 trillion rupiah ($284 million) in environmental damages from six companies it has linked to deadly floods and landslides triggered by Cyclone Senyar in November.
- Following the disasters, the ministry launched an investigation into dozens of companies in the region; the findings determined six companies were responsible for alleged damage to watersheds in North Sumatra.
- The areas affected include Batang Toru, an ecologically fragile ecosystem home to the Tapanuli orangutan, the world’s rarest great ape.

Twin infant mountain gorillas born in DRC
The birth of twin mountain gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is raising hopes for the survival of one of the world’s most threatened great apes. “For me, it is a huge sign of hope and a great way to start the new year,” Katie Fawcett, science director with the DRC-based Gorilla Rehabilitation […]
Chimpanzees and gorillas among most traded African primates, report finds
- A new report finds thousands of African primates, including chimpanzees and gorillas, are being traded both legally and illegally.
- Most of the legal trade in great apes is for scientific and zoo purposes, but the report raises some concerns on the legality of recent trade instances for zoos.
- Chimpanzees topped the list of the most illegally traded African primates, as the exotic pet trade drives the demand for juveniles and infants.

An endangered menu (cartoon)
Amidst the ongoing battle for survival against logging and hunting, Madagascar’s lemurs face a new and unprecedented threat — the demand for lemur meat among the country’s urban elite, falsely believed to have health benefits.
After Cyclone Senyar, Indonesia probes whether development amplified scale of disaster
- Cyclone Senyar triggered catastrophic floods and landslides in northern Sumatra in late 2025, but scientists and activists say decades of deforestation and landscape alteration in upland watersheds largely determined the scale of the destruction.
- The heavily hit Batang Toru landscape, home to the world’s only Tapanuli orangutan population, has become a national test case after the government ordered eight mining, energy and plantation companies to halt operations pending rare watershed-wide environmental audits.
- Investigations have raised concerns that forest clearing by a pulpwood producer, a hydropower project and a gold mine on steep terrain may have destabilized slopes and worsened runoff during extreme rainfall.
- Experts warn that once forest cover is lost in fragile tropical watersheds, disaster risks can persist for decades, making effective law enforcement — rather than weather alone — decisive for Batang Toru’s future.

7 hopeful wildlife sightings that researchers celebrated in 2025
Once in a while, an animal shows up where it’s least expected, including places from where it was thought to have gone extinct. These rare sightings bring hope — but also fresh concerns. These are some of the wildlife sightings Mongabay reported on in 2025. Colossal squid recorded for the first time in its deep-sea […]
Rare bats at risk as iron ore mine advances in Guinea’s Nimba Mountains
- Guinea’s government is assessing the potential impacts of a mining project in the Nimba Mountains, in a biodiversity hotspot that has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site while being threatened by mining.
- U.S. mining company Ivanhoe Atlantic recently submitted an environmental impact assessment for an iron ore mine at a site that is the only known home of two unique bat species, as well as critically endangered chimpanzees and threatened toads and frogs.
- Conservationists say open-pit mining in this ecologically sensitive region could spell extinction for Lamotte’s roundleaf bat and the orange-furred Nimba Mountain bat if their forest habitat is disturbed for mine infrastructure.

Cape Town’s new plan for baboons: Fence, capture and possibly euthanize
Authorities in Cape Town, South Africa, have released an updated baboon action plan aimed at reducing conflict between people and baboons, which regularly enter urban areas in search of food. The plan, which includes euthanasia of some baboons, has drawn criticism from animal welfare groups. The plan says the population of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) […]
Tsunami veteran rescue elephants mobilized for Indonesia cyclone disaster relief
- The number of people killed by flash floods after Cyclone Senyar made landfall over Sumatra on Nov. 26 increased to 1,059 on Dec. 18. In Pidie Jaya district, on the north coast of the semi-autonomous region of Aceh, officials assigned a team of four rescue elephants, veterans of the recovery operation after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people in Aceh.
- The Aceh conservation agency said the elephants were uniquely able to help remove fields of logs carried down valleys by the worst flash floods to hit the region in years, with the scale of debris fields impassable to heavy machinery.
- “They are trained and experienced elephants,” the head of Aceh’s conservation agency told Mongabay, while emphasizing that officials went to great lengths to ensure the Sumatran animals’ welfare.
- At least one Sumatran elephant was presumed killed in flash floods caused by Cyclone Senyar, after residents in a village neighboring the rescue elephants’ workplace discovered the animal’s body Nov. 29.

Tapanuli orangutan, devastated by cyclone, now faces habitat loss under zoning plans
- A proposed zoning overhaul in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province could strip legal protections from nearly a third of the Batang Toru ecosystem, threatening the last remaining habitat of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan.
- The proposal came just before a powerful cyclone triggered floods and landslides that may have killed or displaced dozens of Tapanuli orangutans and severely damaged thousands of hectares of forest.
- The changes would weaken scrutiny of mining and plantation projects, including a planned expansion of a nearby gold mine, by removing the area’s “provincial strategic” designation.
- Conservationists say rolling back protections now would be a “nail in the coffin” for the species, calling for emergency protections and expanded conservation measures to prevent population collapse.

Costa Rica’s ‘shocking’ wildlife crisis: Nation must move to prevent animal electrocution (commentary)
- Costa Rica is renowned for its comprehensive laws that safeguard forest cover and wildlife, protecting its status as a biodiversity hotspot that attracts millions of tourists every year.
- Yet wildlife rescue centers persistently point out that the level of care that authorities have promised has not yet been fully realized on multiple issues, including the issue of increasing electrocution deaths of sloths, kinkajous, monkeys and other animals traversing exposed electricity transmission lines after their forests have been cut.
- Many of these NGOs recently came together to form a coalition to bring awareness to the fact that most of the nation’s electrical infrastructure is installed aerially and without insulation, laying deadly traps for all arboreal animals.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Orangutans rescued undergo re-training to return to the wild
NORTH SUMATRA, Indonesia — Welcome to jungle school, where orphaned orangutans are learning the basics for survival that they will need for life in the wild. At the Orangutan Information Centre (OIC) in North Sumatra, vets and biologists are rehabilitating orangutans who have been confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade. Once they have mastered the […]
Sumatran flood disaster may have wiped out a key Tapanuli orangutan population, scientists fear
- As many as 35 critically endangered Tapanuli orangutans — 4% of the species’ total population — may have been wiped out in the catastrophic floods and landslides that struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra recently, scientists warn, after the discovery of a carcass.
- Satellite and field evidence show massive destruction of the western block of the Batang Toru ecosystem, with thousands of hectares of steep forest slopes destroyed — an “extinction-level disturbance” for the world’s rarest great ape.
- Conservationists have lost contact with monitored orangutans in the disaster zone, raising fears more individuals were killed or displaced as feeding areas and valleys were obliterated.
- The tragedy has renewed calls to safeguard the Batang Toru ecosystem by halting industrial projects and granting it stronger protection, as climate-driven disasters escalate across Sumatra.

Wildlife and communities bear the cost as Simandou rail corridor advances across Guinea
- A 650-km (400-mi) railway corridor is being built that will link the iron ore mine in eastern Guinea to the country’s Atlantic port of Moribaya.
- Its route crosses forests that are home to some of the last populations of forest elephants and western chimpanzees in the country, with NGOs warning of disruptions and fragmentation of vital habitat, putting several species at risk of local extinction.
- Villagers along the route also complain that dust and pollution have impacted their livelihoods, and that compensation has been delayed or incomplete.
- Experts and civil society actors are calling for a strategic environmental study and better implementation of environmental and social management plans.

Lemurs are at risk. So are the people protecting them.
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Patricia Wright arrived in Madagascar nearly four decades ago to look for a lemur thought to be extinct. She found it, along with a new species, and then ran headlong into a broader reality: protecting wildlife would depend […]
Indigenous Dayak sound alarm as palm oil firm razes orangutan habitat in Borneo
- Indigenous Dayak communities report wildlife encroaching into villages, land grabbing, and loss of cultural and livelihood resources as a palm oil company begins clearing forests on their customary lands — in some cases without consent or even prior notification.
- PT Equator Sumber Rezeki (ESR) has already cleared nearly 1,500 hectares (3,700 hectares) of rainforest inside this region that’s designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and orangutan habitat, with much of the deforestation occurring this year and signaling far more destruction to come.
- The company’s parent group, First Borneo, is driving widespread deforestation across Kapuas Hulu with two other plantations, yet its palm fruit is still entering global “zero-deforestation” supply chains through intermediary mills despite corporate no-buy pledges.
- Environmental groups are urging the government to halt or revoke ESR’s permits and protect the orangutan-rich landscape, warning that continued clearing undermines Indonesia’s climate commitments and threatens both biodiversity and cultural survival.

Returning baby gibbons to the wild
Across Southeast Asia, the trafficking of gibbons is on the rise, as demand for them as pets on the black market has soared. On the frontline of this rising issue is the Sumatran Rescue Alliance which forms part of Orangutan Information Centre. But rehabilitating and releasing gibbons back to the wild can be a long […]
Lemurs are being eaten as an urban delicacy in Madagascar
- Lemur meat has become a discreet urban delicacy in Madagascar, with an estimated 13,000 lemurs sold annually in surveyed cities—mostly through hidden hunter-to-client channels.
- Peri-urban hunters run efficient one-stop operations, earning up to a third of their cash income from lemur sales while traveling long distances to harvest increasingly rare species.
- Wealthier consumers fuel demand based on perceptions of taste, luxury, and health benefits, with little fear of legal consequences and high prices reinforcing the status of lemur dishes.
- The trade targets vulnerable species, peaks during breeding season, and threatens rapid population declines; effective responses require firearm regulation, alternative livelihoods for hunters, and demand-focused strategies.

Pioneering primatologist in Madagascar shares decades of conservation wisdom
Patricia Wright, a pioneering primatologist who established the Centre ValBio research station in Madagascar, began her work there in 1986. As the person who first described the golden bamboo lemur (Hapalemur aureus) to Western science, her contributions led to the creation of Ranomafana National Park, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. She joins the Mongabay […]
New population of the world’s rarest great ape discovered
A new population of the endangered Tapanuli orangutan has been discovered! Until now, we only knew of a population of around 800 individuals living in the Batang Toru forest in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province. But a new group has been found — in a peat swamp about 32 km (20 mi) away. In October last […]
Gibbon trafficking pushes rehabilitation centers to the max in North Sumatra
- Famed for their free-flow swinging through the forest canopy, gibbons are being relentlessly shot, stolen and incarcerated to supply an escalating illegal pet trade that targets babies in particular.
- Experts point to misleading social media content and a surge in private zoo collections as fueling the trade. Hundreds of the small apes have been confiscated by authorities across South and Southeast Asia in the past decade, with India and the UAE emerging as primary destinations.
- Gibbon rehabilitation centers, mostly operated by NGOs struggling for funding, are buckling under the numbers of animals in need of rescue and care.
- The trade imposes overwhelming suffering on the trafficked animals and immense wastage among the complex social groups gibbons live in, driving already threatened species ever closer to extinction.

The price of a monkey
The long-tailed macaque has lost a battle for its survival — but won one for scientific integrity, reports Mongabay’s Gerald Flynn. In early October, the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, reaffirmed the species’ endangered status, rejecting an appeal by the U.S. National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR). The lobby group had argued that the […]
International Gibbon Day: Spotlighting the overlooked, underprotected ‘lesser apes’
Gibbons, commonly called lesser apes, aren’t as well-known as some of their great ape cousins like chimpanzees or gorillas. But the lives of these highly arboreal primates are no less fascinating. They reside in the canopy of the tropical forests of South and Southeast Asia, living in small family groups, each patrolling its own territory, […]
Primatology goes high tech — from bioacoustics to drones & AI
- From thermal cameras to deep learning AI, researchers are reinventing how they study primates in the wild.
- What began with Jane Goodall’s observational notes has evolved into artificial intelligence that identifies chimpanzees and decodes their social lives.
- A custom-built “dronequi” with a thermal and a high-definition camera is helping scientists spot Brazil’s elusive and endangered muriquis from above the trees.
- Hidden microphones across Borneo’s rainforests capture haunting gibbon duets, revealing clues about hybridization and habitat loss.

New cluster of Tapanuli orangutans discovered in Sumatra peat swamp
- Researchers have confirmed that the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan, previously thought to live only in Sumatra’s Batang Toru forest, also inhabits a peat swamp forest 32 kilometers (20 miles) away in the Lumut Maju village forest.
- DNA analysis of fecal samples verified the Lumut Maju apes as Tapanuli orangutans, marking the first confirmed record of the species outside Batang Toru.
- The discovery highlights the conservation value of nonprotected peat swamps, which are rapidly being cleared for oil palm plantations, threatening the orangutans’ survival.
- Conservationists warn that the isolated Lumut Maju population, likely fewer than 100 individuals, may not be viable long term unless habitat protection or relocation strategies are implemented.

Microplastics found in the stomachs of Amazon tree-dwelling monkeys
Scientists have detected microplastics in the digestive systems of red howler monkeys living in protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon, marking the first evidence of plastic ingestion by a tree-dwelling primate, according to a recent study. The researchers evaluated 47 Juruá red howler monkeys (Alouatta juara) and found green-colored microplastic filaments, smaller than 5 millimeters […]
IUCN upholds long-tailed macaques’ endangered status after complaint
- Conservation authority the IUCN has upheld the endangered status of the long-tailed macaque after rejecting the U.S. biomedical lobby’s challenge to downgrade it.
- Demand from research labs has fueled illegal “monkey laundering,” with wild-caught macaques funneled through breeding farms in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam and exported as captive-bred animals.
- U.S. industry lobbyists have opposed stronger protections to maintain access to macaques for biomedical testing, despite evidence of the widespread illegal trade.
- Conservationists warn that poaching, the pet trade and online abuse continue to endanger the species, and call for tougher laws and greater accountability.

Jane Goodall (1934–2025): primatologist, conservationist, and messenger of hope
- Jane Goodall, who began her career in 1960 with little formal training, transformed science’s understanding of chimpanzees and in the process reshaped the boundary between humans and animals. Her discoveries at Gombe forced the recognition of animal minds, emotions, and cultures once thought unique to humanity.
- She built on that science with activism: founding the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977, launching community-centered conservation programs across Africa, and creating sanctuaries for orphaned chimps. In 1991 she established Roots & Shoots, which grew into a vast youth movement spanning more than 100 countries.
- Beyond research and institutions, she became a global messenger, traveling up to 300 days a year to speak with audiences ranging from heads of state to schoolchildren planting trees. She insisted that empathy and objectivity could coexist and called on each person to remember that “every day you live, you make some kind of impact.”
- She described humanity as standing at the mouth of a dark tunnel with a star shining at the end—hope. To reach it, she said, required collective effort. That conviction defined her legacy: a life that reminded the world that hope is not wishful thinking but a discipline, and that every individual makes a difference.

Urban appetite for lemur meat piles pressure on iconic primates
- Thousands of threatened lemurs are killed by specialist hunters every year to feed a lucrative urban market for their meat in cities across Madagascar.
- While rural subsistence hunting is seasonal and opportunistic, the year-round urban luxury trade for lemur meat threatens large-bodied species, including during key reproductive periods.
- Primatologists recently issued a statement calling for strategies aimed at different actors involved in lemur meat hunting, including stricter gun regulations and enforcement directed at the urban trade, and the development of economic alternatives for rural subsistence hunters.

Indonesia aims to redraw UNESCO site boundaries to allow geothermal projects
- Indonesia is proposing to redraw the boundaries of a UNESCO World Heritage rainforest, excluding two degraded areas, in order to free up geothermal potential in the region.
- Geothermal, which draws from the country’s volcanic geography, is an energy technology the government is aggressively promoting as the country moves away from fossil fuels.
- The area was declared a World Heritage Site in 2004 for its immense biodiversity: more than 10,000 plant species, 200 mammals and 580 birds, including critically endangered Sumatran orangutans, tigers, rhinos and elephants.
- The site is already on UNESCO’s World Heritage in Danger list due to deforestation, illegal logging, encroachment and road building; environmentalists warn that geothermal development risks worsening pressures on a forest ecosystem already in decline.

A dancing lemur could help save one of Madagascar’s most endangered ecosystems
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Madagascar’s rainforests often steal the spotlight, with their flamboyant biodiversity and familiar lemur mascots. Less noticed are the country’s dry forests in the west and southwest, which shelter equally remarkable life yet have been steadily eroded by agriculture, […]
World Gorilla Day: What imperils our powerful cousins, and what brings hope
They’re powerful, intelligent and majestic, yet increasingly imperiled. Today, on World Gorilla Day, we recap recent Mongabay reporting that highlights both the threats facing gorillas, our great ape cousins, and some signs of hope. Emerging threats The Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) continues to be one of the world’s top 25 most endangered primates, […]
Madagascar’s dry forests need attention, and Verreaux’s sifakas could help
- Western Madagascar is home to some of the country’s poorest communities and its most endangered wildlife, presenting intertwined challenges for conservation.
- The region’s characteristic dry forests have been badly damaged by clearing of land for shifting agriculture — and for mining, plantations and timber harvesting — over the past 50 years: Across Madagascar, nearly 60% of dry forest species are classed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered.
- NGO leaders, scientists and government representatives are forming a dry forest alliance to better coordinate efforts to protect this valuable biome.
- Among the new alliance’s first actions was pushing for the inclusion of the critically-endangered Verreaux’s sifaka on the latest list of the World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates, which alliance members hope will attract greater attention to this primate’s threatened habitat.

Yellow fever deaths reported among threatened captive monkeys in Colombia
An ongoing outbreak of yellow fever in Colombia is sickening and killing rare and threatened monkey species in captivity, a new study shows. Between February and May 2025, authorities reported eight deaths among four monkey species in southern Colombia’s Putumayo department, researchers note. Six of the individuals were in captivity: one white-fronted capuchin (Cebus albifrons), […]
Collaboration key to lemur survival: Interview with primatologist Jonah Ratsimbazafy
- Primatologist Jonah Ratsimbazafy has warned that primate conservation is at critical juncture, and success will depends on collective effort.
- As he concluded his term as president of the International Primatological Society, he urged its members to work collaboratively and inclusively.
- Mongabay interviewed Ratsimbazafy about the state of research and protection for the Madagascar’s iconic lemurs on the sidelines of the 30th congress of the IPS in Antananarivo in July.

Brazil’s Atlantic Forest still losing ‘large amounts’ of mature forest, despite legal protection
- Despite a federal protection law, Brazil’s Atlantic Forest lost a Washington, D.C.-sized area of mature forest every year between 2010 and 2020, with most of the deforestation occurring illegally on private lands for agriculture.
- The Atlantic Forest is a critical biodiversity hotspot that supports 70% of Brazil’s GDP while serving nearly three-quarters of the country’s population.
- Major agribusiness companies, including COFCO, Bunge and Cargill, have been identified as exposed to deforestation in their soybean supply chains, with agriculture and livestock farming driving most forest loss.
- Conservation success stories like the black lion tamarin’s recovery from near-extinction demonstrate that restoration is possible, with one project planting millions of seedlings and generating significant local employment.

In eastern Congo’s war-torn forests, Augustin Basabose gave hope to gorillas and people
- Dr. Augustin Kanyunyi Basabose, who died on August 18th, 2025, was a pioneering Congolese primatologist whose optimism and energy inspired colleagues and communities alike.
- He founded Primate Expertise (PEx), which combined science with community-led conservation, including the innovative “Ape Trees” project that restored forests while supporting livelihoods.
- Central to his work was the protection of Grauer’s gorillas, alongside training hundreds of students and urging international partners to prioritize local leadership.
- His influence is evident in eastern Congo’s forests, where gorilla populations are recovering and communities have become vital allies in conservation.

Global brands join drive for deforestation-free palm oil in Indonesia’s Aceh
- Major brands including Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever have launched the Aceh Sustainable Palm Oil Working Group to align with a new road map for deforestation-free palm oil in the Indonesian province.
- Aceh, on the island of Sumatra, is home to the Leuser Ecosystem and other critical habitats, but has lost nearly 42,000 hectares (104,000 acres) of forest since 2020, much of it driven by expansion of oil palm plantations.
- The initiative aims to boost the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, protect high conservation value forests, and help producers comply with new global rules like the EU Deforestation Regulation.
- While the plan has drawn international backing, civil society groups stress its success depends on ensuring accountability, transparency and sustained pressure to halt illegal deforestation.

Bonobos keep track of groupmates even when they can’t see them, study finds
Kanzi, a bonobo celebrated for his intelligence, died in March this year. A recently published study adds to his long list of cognitive abilities: he was able to track the location of people familiar to him, even when they were out of sight. He could also recognize the individual voices of his caretakers, a skill […]
World Orangutan Day: Ongoing threats & habitat loss haunt these great apes
Despite years of research into their complex behavior and intelligence, orangutans remain critically endangered on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, where they’re endemic. Mongabay has extensively covered the threats they face from habitat degradation and what studies say about how human activities affect them. This World Orangutan Day, on Aug. 19, we take a […]
Rare monkeys cross new sky bridges
Hundreds of monkeys can now safely cross roads in Alta Floresta, a city in the southern Brazilian Amazon. Seven canopy bridges have reconnected rainforest fragments that were separated by urban roads. Camera traps have recorded more than 3,000 crossings by canopy-dwelling wildlife, an average of more than 12 a day, since October 2024, when the […]
New list of primates in peril aims to focus attention and inspire action
- A new list of the 25 most threatened primates has been published by the International Primatological Society, which held its 30th congress in Madagascar in July.
- More than 40% of primate species are classed as endangered or worse, and the biannual listing of the most threatened species aims to draw attention to species at particularly high risk, and inspire action to protect them.
- The 2025 list includes species from Asia, Africa and the Neotropics.
- Some species are absent from the latest list thanks to an improved outlook, but others have been displaced only because of the deteriorating situation for others.

Indonesian farmers plant hope for isolated Javan gibbons
In Indonesia’s Central Java province, two groups of Javan gibbons have become isolated in two small forest patches. To help the gibbons make their way to larger forest areas, a local NGO, SwaraOwa, is working with farmers in the region to restore and build “corridors” that would connect the fragmented forest blocks, Mongabay reported in […]
Orangutans make up for lost sleep with daytime naps, study finds
- New research based on more than a decade of field observations indicates that wild Sumatran orangutans balance their sleep needs much like humans do, by napping during the day.
- The team found the shorter an individual’s sleep period overnight, the longer was its cumulative nap period the next day.
- Orangutan sleep also varied with temperature, activity levels and proximity of others, indicating the great apes have to trade off between foraging, socializing, traveling and sleep.
- Deforestation, habitat fragmentation and climate change are all likely to influence the capacity of orangutans to manage their sleep needs, with clear consequences for their overall health and survival.

Study finds worrying uptick in proboscis monkey trade in Indonesia
- Proboscis monkeys, endemic to Borneo, are threatened by habitat destruction, forest fires and hunting. But until two decades ago, trade wasn’t a threat to the CITES-listed species, which is challenging to keep in captivity.
- A recent study, analyzing 25-year seizure and trade data involving proboscis monkey trade, finds nearly 100 individuals in trade in Indonesia, with an alarming rise in online trade and zoo exchanges in recent years, many of which are likely acquired from the wild.
- Conservationists say this uptick in trade poses a threat to the endangered species and urge Indonesian authorities to enforce existing legislation to protect proboscis monkeys from trade. They also say social media platforms must do more to curb wildlife trade on their platforms, which is also a concern for proboscis monkeys.

World Chimpanzee Day: the strength — and fragility — of chimp memory
The more we try to understand chimpanzees, one of our closest relatives, the more we find ourselves humbled by the richness and complexity of their lives — and of their intelligence. Today, on World Chimpanzee Day, we look back at some of the latest studies that reveal facets of these great apes’ long, powerful memories. […]
Forest corridors protect Colombia’s critically endangered brown spider monkey
- Brown spider monkeys (Ateles hybridus) are some of the world’s most threatened primates, as deforestation has razed about 85% of their habitat in Colombia.
- With monkey populations living in patches of forests, conservationists in the Middle Magdalena region feared that low genetic variation could lead to a further collapse of the species, so they started creating biological corridors connecting forest fragments.
- The project currently maintains 15 ecological corridors, with plans to create six more. Researchers work with landowners to create private conservation areas, leveraging the benefits of forest restoration for agriculture and ecosystems in general.

Endangered primates use new canopy bridges in a Brazilian Amazon city
Hundreds of monkeys can now safely cross roads in Alta Floresta, a city in the southern Brazilian Amazon. Seven canopy bridges have reconnected rainforest fragments that were separated by urban roads. Camera traps have recorded more than 3,000 crossings by canopy-dwelling wildlife, an average of more than 12 a day, since October 2024, when the […]
Friendship benefits male and female mountain gorillas differently, study shows
- A 21-year study of 164 wild mountain gorillas found that strong social bonds produce different health effects for males and females, with males experiencing more illness but fewer injuries when they have close friendships.
- Female gorillas with strong social bonds generally had better health outcomes, experiencing 19% fewer injuries and 14% less illness compared to those with weaker social bonds.
- The benefits and costs of friendship varied based on group size, with females in small groups having fewer offspring despite better health, while those in large groups had more babies but higher rates of illness.
- The research helps explain why animals exhibit such diverse social behaviors and may inform conservation efforts for this endangered species, which numbers just over 1,000 individuals.

Signs of hope for rescued gorillas rewilded in DRC, but security concerns linger
- In October 2024, conservationists released four gorillas from the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center (GRACE) in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo back into the wild.
- The release took place in Virunga National Park — raising some concerns about their safety, as the park has been largely controlled by the armed rebel group M23 since January 2025.
- To reduce poaching in the area, GRACE says it focuses on working closely with local communities and integrating them into the organization.
- As for the released gorillas, GRACE reports that they joined a wild gorilla family and were even observed mating with the dominant male, raising hopes of a successful rewilding.

Natural bridges to reconnect the last Javan gibbons
JAVA — Indonesia. Throughout the misty mountains of central Java, the call of the Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch) once echoed throughout the forest. Today, their voices are fading. Java is one of the most densely populated regions on Earth, and decades of logging, agriculture and infrastructure development have fragmented the forest, while rampant hunting and […]
Gelada monkey vocalizations offer insight into human evolution: Study
With their bright red, hairless chests and grass-grazing lifestyle, gelada monkeys are quite unusual. They are the only primate, other than humans, to primarily live on land instead of in trees, and a new study shows they are also able to detect emotional and social cues through vocal exchanges. “Geladas are special because they live […]
Mentawai’s primates are vanishing. One hunter is trying to save them.
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the jungles of Siberut Island, the cries of the bilou once echoed freely. Now, they’re harder to hear. Siberut is the largest of the Mentawai Islands, an archipelago off western Sumatra, Indonesia, where a battle is unfolding […]
New population of rare douc langurs found in Vietnam’s highland forests
- Conservationists surveying upland forests in central Vietnam have located a new subpopulation of critically endangered gray-shanked douc langurs.
- Fewer than 2,400 individuals are thought to remain in the wild, mostly in Vietnam, where more than half live outside of formally protected areas.
- Forest loss and hunting pressure have driven the species to the brink of extinction, spurring stakeholders to develop an action plan for the species in 2022.
- Experts say the new discovery underscores the need for conservation measures that go beyond traditional area-based approaches to encompass habitat restoration, community-based programs and habitat corridors.

Clouded leopard seen preying on Bengal slow loris in rare photograph
In December 2024, a camera trap installed in Dehing Patkai National Park in northeast India’s Assam state captured a rare scene: a clouded leopard with a Bengal slow loris in its mouth. Both species are extremely elusive, so the photograph is rare confirmation that the medium-sized wildcat preys on the small, endangered primate, reports contributor […]
A new report lists the world’s 25 most endangered primates. Most people have never heard of them.
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. A new report, “Primates in Peril: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates,” catalogs the species closest to the brink. Compiled by more than 100 scientists and conservationists, it’s a stark warning: without urgent action, some of our closest […]
Female bonobos wield power through unity: Study
Male bonobos are larger and stronger than females, so researchers have found it puzzling that the female apes enjoy high status in bonobo society. After analyzing three decades of behavioral data, researchers recently shared a study that pinpoints their source of power: female alliances and coalitions. “Only [among] bonobos, females form coalitions to gain power […]
Peril and persistence define the path of Africa’s conservationists
- Local conservationists across Africa face threats, isolation and underfunding, as illustrated by Nigerian conservationist Itakwu Innocent, who survived an assassination attempt and has endured years of violence and ostracism for protecting wildlife and opposing poaching in his community.
- Women and young scientists in particular face systemic barriers in conservation, including gender bias and limited access to funding and recognition, despite taking leadership roles and driving grassroots initiatives in places like Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria.
- Funding disparities and broken promises by international NGOs have undermined trust in conservation efforts, making it harder for local scientists like Owan Kenneth to gain community support without financial incentives.
- Despite these challenges, recognition and success stories are emerging, with initiatives like fellowships and community-led reforms helping figures such as Adekambi Cole, Bashiru Koroma and Asuquo Nsa Ani make tangible conservation gains and inspire others.

Fighting back against Guinea-Bissau’s illegal chimpanzee trade
- Guinea-Bissau is home to around 5% of critically endangered western chimpanzees, who face numerous threats including habitat loss, disease and illegal trade.
- A recent study found numerous chimps held in private residences and hotels, often taken from the wild as infants and held in poor conditions.
- The study’s authors recommend revising laws and penalties regulating hunting or keeping chimpanzees captive, training for officials responsible for enforcement, and a public awareness campaign about the dangers of keeping wild animals.

Silvery lining for Java’s endangered gibbon as Rahayu Oktaviani wins Whitley prize
- Indonesian conservationist Rahayu Oktaviani, known for her work with Java’s silvery gibbon, received this year’s Whitley Award for achievements in grassroots conservation.
- The 50,000 British pound ($67,000) prize will be used to expand her foundation’s work carried out local communities near Gunung Halimun-Salak National Park in West Java province.
- Halimun-Salak is where up to half of the 4,000-4,500 silvery gibbons estimated to exist in the wild remain.
- Indonesia is home to nine species of gibbon, but only one of those species lives on Java, the world’s most-populous island.

‘Satellites for Biodiversity’ upgrades with new projects and launches insight hub
The Airbus Foundation and the Connected Conservation Foundation (CCF) recently announced the winners of their “Satellites for Biodiversity” grant, which now uses higher-resolution satellite imagery to aid conservation efforts. They also launched an Ecosystem Insight Hub, which comprehensively documents the processes and findings of their grantees. The latest batch of six “Satellites for Biodiversity” awardees […]
Capuchin monkeys on Panama island seen stealing howler monkey babies
On a remote Panamanian island, researchers have observed for the very first time young male capuchin monkeys stealing howler monkey babies, according to a new study. Since 2017, researchers have used camera traps to study Panamanian white-faced capuchins (Cebus imitator) on Jicarón Island in Coiba National Park, where the monkeys use stone tools to crack […]
Brazil rewilds urban forest with vaccinated brown howler monkeys
Following a deadly yellow fever outbreak in 2016, brown howler monkeys are slowly making a recovery through targeted vaccination and reintroduction efforts in one of the world’s largest urban forests. The recovery is detailed in a Mongabay video by Kashfi Halford and a report by Bernardo Araujo. Brown howler monkeys (Alouatta guariba) are endemic to […]
Study unveils mystery of monkey yodeling — and why humans can’t compete
- Researchers found that New World monkeys can produce extreme yodeling-like sounds by rapidly switching between their vocal folds (for low tones) and specialized vocal membranes (for high tones), achieving frequency jumps up to 12 times greater than humans can manage.
- Scientists conducted their research at Bolivia’s La Senda Verde animal refuge, using recordings and electroglottographs on live monkeys.
- Humans lost these vocal membranes during evolution, trading vocal gymnastics for more stable speech that’s easier to understand.
- The complex vocalizations likely help monkeys manage social relationships and grab attention in the rainforest.

Indigenous conservationists lead the fight to save Mentawai’s endangered primates
- Five of the six nonhuman primate species found in the Indonesia’s Mentawai Islands have traditionally been hunted; traditional beliefs forbid killing the sixth, Kloss’s gibbon, or bilou.
- With widespread deforestation and the erosion of traditional practices that governed hunting behavior, all of the islands’ primates are now endangered or critically endangered.
- Malinggai Uma Tradisional Mentawai, a grassroots, Indigenous-led organization, is working with communities to protect primates within the framework of Indigenous Mentawai customs.

Borneo project hopes to prove that forests and oil palms can coexist
- Monoculture palm oil production has come at the cost of rainforest habitat, particularly in Malaysia and Indonesia.
- Researchers are conducting experimental trials in Malaysian Borneo to see if native trees can be planted in oil palm plantations without significantly reducing palm oil yields.
- While still in the initial stages, the experiment is so far showing there are no detrimental effects to oil palm growth.
- In fact, interplanting with native forest trees may benefit oil palm, with the researchers finding oil palm trees had more leaf growth in agroforestry plots than in monoculture ones.

Chimpanzees filmed sharing alcoholic fruits for the first time
Researchers have for the first time filmed wild chimpanzees feasting on alcoholic fruits together. It’s the “first evidence for ethanolic food sharing and feeding by wild nonhuman great apes,” they say in a new study. The research team, led by scientists at the University of Exeter, U.K., captured the footage on camera traps they set […]
Top 25 most threatened primates highlighted in new report urging action
- The latest list of the 25 most endangered primates includes nine from Asia, six from the Americas, six from the African mainland, and four from Madagascar.
- Madagascar is home to 112 known lemur species, nearly all of which face the threat of extinction or what they report calls “collective endangerment,” where entire taxonomical groups are at risk of dying out.
- Several primates feature on the list for the first time, including the Sahafary sportive lemur, red-bellied monkey, northern pygmy slow loris, Myanmar snub-nosed monkey, Central American squirrel monkey, and Bornean banded langur.
- The report is also designed to spur conservation efforts for the listed species, as happened in the case of Brazil’s pied tamarin, a species for which the Brazilian government created a strict reserve in 2024.

In Cameroon’s forgotten forests, gorillas and chimps hang on
- Many forest reserves in southern Cameroon, despite being highly degraded and fragmented, harbor significant biodiversity.
- A recent study using camera traps in two such forest reserves captured the first evidence of great apes — a gorilla and several chimpanzees — foraging in and navigating the mosaic of fragmented landscapes.
- Some of the videos show apes and humans using the same parts of the forests at different times, highlighting the risk of human-ape conflicts that could impact the already threatened great apes.
- Conservationists say the presence of great apes outside protected areas indicates the need to protect these areas, and that further research is needed to understand how great apes use fragmented landscapes close to human communities.

Poaching intensifies in M23-occupied areas of Virunga National Park
- On March 11th, 2025, Virunga National Park authorities discovered a young gorilla named Fazili caught in a poacher’s trap.
- The closure of Virunga National Park eco-guard patrol posts in areas under M23 occupation has prevented regular patrols and monitoring since April 2024, said researchers, and some locals are taking advantage of the security situation to benefit from the park’s resources, collaborate with armed groups for land, or take part in the wild meat trade.
- No species have completely disappeared from the park, and the population of gorillas continued to rise in 2024 but there has been a 50% decrease in wildlife since the M23 resurgence in 2021 and poaching is expanding, said park officials.
- About one hundred community trackers are working to protect wildlife during the security crisis.

Indigenous stewardship plays a key role in protecting imperiled primates
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. While most people are familiar with monkeys, the great apes, and possibly lemurs, fewer may realize that there are more than 500 known species of primates, making them one of the most diverse groups of mammals. These species […]
Indris like to “move it”
Madagascar’s Indri indri lemurs can carry a tune. Through collecting songs and calls produced by 20 indri groups in Madagascar’s rainforests over the span of 15 years, scientists have found that indri songs exhibit rhythmic patterns that are common in human music — providing a pathway for decoding the evolution of music. Indris are critically […]
Orangutan habitat under siege as palm oil company clears forest in Borneo
- Indonesian palm oil company PT Equator Sumber Rezeki (ESR), part of First Borneo Group, has begun clearing critical orangutan habitat in West Kalimantan province, threatening high conservation value (HCV) forests and the survival of the critically endangered Bornean orangutan.
- Despite only partial clearing so far, conservationists warn that ESR plans major expansion, risking the loss of up to 10,000 hectares (about 25,000 acres) of forest, and further undermining Indonesia’s biodiversity and climate goals.
- First Borneo Group has a long record of large-scale deforestation through multiple subsidiaries, prompting major palm oil buyers like Nestlé and Musim Mas to suspend or end sourcing from the group, though some companies remain linked via supply chains.
- Environmental groups are calling for an immediate halt to ESR’s land clearing, comprehensive ecological audits, and urgent action from companies still sourcing from First Borneo Group to prevent a potential ecological disaster for orangutans and the region’s forests.

‘Snow-white’ monkeys of Sri Lanka draw in tourists
For a small village near the Sinharaja Forest Reserve in Sri Lanka, “snow-white monkeys” have become a major tourist attraction, reports contributor Malaka Rodrigo for Mongabay. These white monkeys are a color variant of the endangered purple-faced langur (Semnopithecus vetulus), also known as the purple-faced leaf monkey, found only in Sri Lanka. Purple-faced langurs typically […]
An interview with orangutan conservationist and advocate Gary Shapiro
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Orangutans, with their expressive eyes and human-like behaviors, have long fascinated us. Few people, however, have delved as deeply into their world as Gary L. Shapiro. His five-decade career began with a groundbreaking study in primate communication, where […]
Data discrepancies suggest Laos monkey smuggling persists, despite trade ban
- A new report highlights widespread monkey laundering in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, where wild-caught long-tailed macaques are illegally funneled into breeding farms before being exported for biomedical research as captive-bred animals.
- Despite growing concerns over the ethics and effectiveness of animal testing, the biomedical industry continues to rely on macaques, fueling a multibillion-dollar trade, with some shipments worth millions of dollars.
- Thailand has emerged as a hotspot for poaching, with poachers capturing monkeys in urban areas before smuggling them across the Mekong River into Laos and Cambodia, often using concealed transport methods.
- Laos has significantly increased its estimate of wild macaques to justify legalizing their capture, raising concerns of official complicity in laundering monkeys for the biomedical industry, despite international skepticism over the accuracy of the data.

Report alleges criminality in Cambodian, Vietnamese monkey trade
- A new report is the latest to bolster long-standing allegations that many long-tailed macaques imported into the U.S. for biomedical research were illegally caught from the wild and falsely labeled as captive-bred, with suspiciously high birth rates at breeding facilities in Southeast Asia.
- Cambodia became a major supplier of monkeys for research after China stopped exports in 2020, but investigations found indications of large-scale monkey-laundering operations, leading to legal cases, failed prosecutions, and a 64% drop in exports by 2023. Despite concerns, global wildlife trade regulator CITES did not ban the trade.
- Vietnam’s reported monkey exports also show discrepancies, with new “satellite breeding facilities” appearing without proper documentation, raising concerns that wild monkeys are also being trafficked into breeding farms.
- A tuberculosis outbreak linked to Vietnamese monkey exports highlights the public health risks, while U.S. company Charles River Laboratories faces scrutiny over its alleged role in the illegal monkey trade, seeming to benefit from political ties to evade accountability.

Illegal trafficking of siamang gibbons is a concerning and underreported crisis (commentary)
- As authorities have continued to criminalize great ape trafficking, “small apes” like gibbons, which are also coveted by the illegal pet trade and whose trade is also lucrative, are likely to see an increasing threat to their long-term survival if nations don’t act to protect them too, a new op-ed states.
- Of all gibbon species, the siamang is the most trafficked, making it one of the most, if not the most trafficked ape species, as highlighted by a recent siamang trafficking bust at a major Indian airport.
- “Urgent action is needed to combat this ongoing crisis before the song of the siamang and other gibbons vanishes from the forests of Sumatra,” the author argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

New refuge helps protect Amazon’s most endangered monkey, but gaps remain
Brazil designated a refuge twice the size of Manhattan near the Amazonian city of Manaus in June 2024 to protect the pied tamarin, South America’s most endangered monkey. But almost one year later, the 15,000-hectare (37,000-acre) reserve is still being implemented institutionally, and conservationists say it falls short of what the species needs to survive. […]
Action plan aims to save Asia’s leaf-eating monkeys amid ‘alarming’ declines
- A new conservation plan aims to halt the decline of langur monkeys in Southeast Asia, where habitat loss and poaching have severely reduced their numbers.
- The 10-year Asian Langurs Conservation Action Plan focuses on the six countries in the Sundaland biodiversity hotspot, a region known for its astonishing range of habitats and species.
- Based on insights from leading primatologists, the plan prioritizes measures needed to safeguard 28 species and subspecies of langurs.
- Key goals include strengthening and enforcing existing wildlife laws, reducing demand for langurs and their body parts, and raising awareness about their protected status and cultural and ecological importance.

Bonobos combine calls in ways that resemble human language, study finds
Bonobos, one of humanity’s closest relatives, appear to string together vocal calls in ways that mirror a key feature of the human language, a new study carried out in the forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has found. While bonobos (Pan paniscus) produce grunts, peeps, whistles and hoots, they also combine these calls […]
Kanzi the bonobo redefined what it means to be human
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives, and story summaries. Few apes have done more to unsettle human certainties than Kanzi the bonobo. He wasn’t the first nonhuman primate to use symbols to communicate, but he was the first to do so with such fluency, subtlety and apparent […]
Mongabay investigation finds gorilla trade more widespread than previously thought
A Mongabay investigation has uncovered exclusive details about the clandestine market for gorilla and chimpanzee body parts in northeastern Nigeria, revealing that the trade works in a larger area than previously believed and kills more critically endangered gorillas than previously acknowledged. Speaking to hunters, traffickers and customers of a trade steeped in both taboo and […]
Famous bonobo Kanzi, known for smarts & gaming, dies at age 44
Kanzi, the world’s most celebrated bonobo who learned to communicate and play Minecraft with humans, died last week in Iowa, U.S., at the age of 44. Ape Initiative, a research organization in the city of Des Moines dedicated to the study and conservation of endangered bonobos (Pan paniscus) and where Kanzi lived since 2004, said […]
As apes adapt to human disturbance, their new behaviors also put them at risk: Study
- Worldwide, the most frequent causes of disturbances to ape habitats are land conversion for agriculture or logging, a recent study concludes.
- The study found that the most common ways apes adapted to habitat change included foraging for human crops, changing nesting patterns, and traveling along human-made paths.
- These changes can help apes survive in the short term, but can increase long-term risk, especially when behaviors like crop foraging bring them into conflict with humans.
- While some patterns were observed worldwide, human responses to behaviors like crop foraging varied widely, highlighting the need for local voices and priorities to be a central part of conservation planning.

Baby sightings spark hope for critically endangered gibbons in Vietnam
A community conservation team saw not one but two baby Cao-vit gibbons, one of the world’s rarest apes, in the remote forests of northern Vietnam in 2024, the NGO Fauna & Flora announced this month. The first infant sighting was in February 2024 and the second in November, in two separate troops. “It is very […]
Global outcry as petitioners demand no mining expansion in orangutan habitat
- Nearly 200,000 people have signed a petition urging U.K. multinational Jardine Matheson to halt the expansion of the Martabe gold mine in Indonesia’s Batang Toru Forest, home to the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan.
- Agincourt Resources, a subsidiary of Jardine’s Astra International, plans to clear up to 583 hectares (1,441 acres) of forest for a new mining waste facility, which conservationists warn will push the Tapanuli orangutan closer to extinction and harm other protected species.
- Environmental groups accuse Jardines of misleading sustainability claims and the Indonesian government of failing to enforce conservation laws, despite awarding Agincourt a “green” compliance rating.
- Protesters have demanded Jardines adopt a “no deforestation, no peat, no exploitation” (NDPE) policy for its mining operations and provide clarity on conflicting deforestation figures and the compliance of its expansion plan with its approved permits.

In a land where monkeys are seen as pests, Sri Lanka’s white langurs are winning hearts
- A rare population of leucistic, or partially white, purple-faced langurs near Sri Lanka’s Sinharaja Forest Reserve has attracted ecotourism interest, even as monkeys in general are perceived by farmers as crop-raiding pests.
- Unlike albinism, leucism causes a partial loss of pigmentation, and researchers have documented around 30 white langurs in the area.
- The unique langurs have helped transform the village of Lankagama into an ecotourism hub, benefiting the local community and conservation efforts.
- The presence of white monkeys across Sri Lanka, including rare cases of albino primates, highlights the island’s rich biodiversity and the need for further research and protection.

When a chimp community lost its males, it also lost part of its love language
- A new study from Côte d’Ivoire highlights the urgent need to integrate chimpanzee cultural preservation with conservation.
- The study documents the loss of a socially learned behavior — a mating signal — among a group of chimpanzees following the poaching of all of the group’s male members.
- Once lost, behaviors that could be crucial to chimpanzee survival take years to reemerge.
- Researchers say it’s essential to preserve entire chimpanzee communities and their cultural knowledge, as well as simply protecting individuals.

Sri Lanka calls for five-minute surveys to identify crop-raiding animals
- Sri Lanka’s agriculture suffers significant losses due to crop-raiding wildlife, especially elephants, monkeys, wild boars, giant squirrels, porcupines, and peafowls.
- An island-wide, citizen-assisted count of wild animals on agriculture land and in home gardens is planned for Mar. 15, lasting five minutes starting 8 a.m.
- Crop-raiding wild animals remain a significant challenge in Sri Lanka as cultivations suffer but the problem is exacerbated by limited scientific data, prohibitive costs and public opposition to certain solutions like culling.
- The forthcoming survey excludes major nocturnal raiders such as elephants, wild boars, and porcupines, raising questions on the effectiveness of the exercise, while some consider it a step in the right direction.

The environmental toll of the M23 conflict in eastern DRC (Analysis)
- The escalating armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has had significant — and overlooked — environmental impacts. The rate of tree cover loss in Kahuzi-Biega and Virunga National Parks has sharply increased since the conflict reignited in late 2021.
- Armed groups, both state and non-state, have profited by taxing the illegal charcoal and timber trade coming from inside these protected areas.
- Yet the impacts are complex: the broader geopolitical context also provides incentives for the M23 group to support conservation efforts in order to project themselves as providers of good governance in the region.
- This article is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

World Wildlife Day 2025: What I learned speaking spider monkey
- Paul Rosolie is an American conservationist and author. His 2014 memoir, Mother of God, detailed his efforts to protect a tract of forest in Peru through his organization, Junglekeepers.
- In this commentary, Rosolie writes about a recent experience rescuing a spider monkey, which was struggling to stay afloat in a river.
- Rosolie describes the moment as one of profound communication. Through these encounters, he highlights the intelligence, emotion, and vulnerability of wildlife, urging us to recognize our role as stewards of the natural world before it is lost.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

‘Some people will die’: Conversations with Nigeria’s gorilla hunters
- Mongabay traveled to rural villages and urban wildlife markets, gathering testimonies from hunters who have violated cultural taboos to kill apes, as well as the traffickers and traditional medicine practitioners who trade in ape parts.
- Hunting remains a key threat to the survival of gorillas and chimpanzees in Nigeria.
- In the traditions of many Nigerian clans, apes — especially gorillas — are imbued with a deep spiritual significance and recognized for their close relation to humans.
- In some cases, these beliefs contribute to the protection of apes and strong taboos against hunting or harming them; in other cases, they fuel a demand for ape parts for ritual and medicinal uses.

Guinea greenlights gold mine in habitat of critically endangered chimpanzees
The government of Guinea has issued an environmental compliance certificate to an Australian company to go ahead with its plan to mine gold within an area that’s home to critically endangered western chimpanzees. In January, Guinea’s Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development accepted the environmental and social impact assessment that Predictive Discovery had commissioned […]
First Niger Delta red colobus monkey videos reflect community conservation success
Camera traps installed in December 2024 in a community conservation area in the Niger Delta have captured the first videos of elusive and critically endangered red colobus monkeys. The news comes after years of community efforts to protect their habitat following degradation from oil extraction. So far, camera traps have recorded 15 videos that show […]
Chanel wanted ‘responsible’ gold. It turned to a protected area in Madagascar
- In 2019, French fashion house Chanel sought to obtain responsibly sourced gold from artisanal miners in Madagascar — who happened to operate inside a protected area that’s home to critically endangered lemurs and other wildlife.
- Under the initiative, which eventually fell through, Chanel partnered with Fanamby, the local NGO managing Loky Manambato Protected Area in northern Madagascar, to formalize the operations of some 1,000 miners.
- Fanamby has acknowledged that its tolerance for mining in the reserve’s buffer zone “is contrary to conservation,” but added “there is an arrangement” allowing this as long as the core area is left protected.
- Conservation experts say Chanel’s approach — exploiting the fact that many supposedly protected areas aren’t very strictly protected at all — highlights weaknesses in the current conservation paradigm that will only grow more apparent as governments seek to designate more protected areas.

DRC government directive triggers panic in ape sanctuaries amid ongoing conflict
- In January, the Congolese national authority in charge of the country’s protected areas issued a controversial directive asking its partner primate sanctuary to send juvenile chimpanzees to the Kinshasa zoo for a breeding program.
- Critics say the five-year program planned at the Kinshasa and Kisangani zoos, lacks the necessary infrastructure and a concrete plan, raising suspicions about the true intent of the chimpanzee transfers.
- The ongoing conflict in the country adds further uncertainty to the future of sanctuaries and the already threatened apes in the country.

Bonobos can recognize ignorance and help, a new ‘milestone’ in ape intelligence
Bonobos, one of humanity’s closest relatives, can tell when a human doesn’t know something and steps in to help — a cognitive ability never before identified in nonhuman apes, a study found. Researchers tested this in a game with three bonobos (Pan paniscus) living at Ape Initiative in Iowa, U.S. One bonobo, Kanzi, 44, is […]
Sun, sand and skulls: Bali tourism trade peddles threatened primate skulls
- Indonesia’s Bali, with its beautiful beaches and ancient temples, is a tourist hotspot where many businesses cater to foreign travelers, including those that sell art and curios.
- A new study finds that primate skulls, including those from threatened species such as orangutans, gibbons and proboscis monkeys, are openly sold in these shops, despite the trade being illegal.
- Between 2013 and 2024, researchers recorded more than 750 carved and uncarved primate skulls sold to mainly foreign tourists, with sales increasing over time.
- Conservationists say this illegal, barely monitored international trade poses an additional threat to already threatened primates in Indonesia, and call for stricter law enforcement and monitoring to shut down the trade.

Wild baboons don’t recognize their own mirror reflections
Humans like to study themselves in a mirror. But wild baboons, when presented with a mirror, don’t seem to recognize they’re staring at their own selves, a new study has found. For decades, researchers have tried to understand if other animals are self-aware. They’ve used what’s called the mirror test as a way to measure […]
CITES rejects proposed suspension of Cambodian monkey exports
- Cambodian exports of long-tailed macaques will remain legal until November 2025, despite recommendations for suspension due to concerns over poaching and the misrepresentation of wild-caught monkeys as captive-bred.
- Cambodian officials strongly objected to the call for a trade suspension, disputing claims about unrealistic birth rates at breeding facilities and accusing the U.S. wildlife officials of misusing data obtained without their consent during investigations into alleged monkey laundering.
- Japan, China, Canada, the U.S. and other countries that import macaques for use in medical research rejected the suspension, arguing for further review; some expressed confidence in Cambodian compliance, while Canada acknowledged the importance of the trade to its research industry.
- Conservation groups expressed disappointment, highlighting the ongoing threats to wild macaque populations, including poaching, habitat loss and zoonotic risks, and warning that the decision enables unsustainable trade practices in the face of mounting evidence of misconduct.

Singing lemurs found to be dropping beats just like King Julien
The indri, a critically endangered lemur only found in Madagascar’s rainforest, might hold clues about the human knack for musicality, a Mongabay video explains. Indris (Indri indri) are one of the largest living lemurs, and among the few primates that sing. Researchers studied 15 years’ worth of recorded indri songs, and found that these songs […]
Surge in legal land clearing pushes up Indonesia deforestation rate in 2024
- Indonesia’s deforestation increased in 2024 to its highest level since 2021, with forest area four times the size of Jakarta lost; 97% of this occurred within legal concessions, highlighting a shift from illegal to legal deforestation.
- More than half of the forest loss affected critical habitats for threatened species like orangutans, tigers and elephants, particularly in Borneo and Sumatra.
- Key industries driving deforestation include palm oil, pulpwood, and nickel mining, with significant deforestation in Kalimantan, Sumatra and Papua; a new pulp mill in Kalimantan in particular may be driving aggressive land clearing.
- Despite an existing moratorium on new forest-clearance permits, there’s no protection for forests within existing concessions, allowing continued deforestation, and spurring calls for stronger policies to safeguard remaining natural forests.

Chimps remember, for years, the location of ant nests that provide food
- Multiple studies have indicated that wild chimpanzees rely on memory to find ripe fruit, but less has been known about what role memory plays in sourcing foods of animal origin.
- A recent study monitored ant-feeding behaviors in savanna chimpanzees in Senegal, concluding that the apes also rely on memory to locate underground ant nests, rather than simply stumbling across nests opportunistically.
- The chimpanzees were also observed using tools and multiple senses to determine whether ant nesting sites were inhabited.

CITES secretariat urges suspension of Cambodian long-tailed macaque trade
- The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is considering a total ban on the sale of endangered Cambodian long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis), and the CITES secretariat recommends suspending trade until Cambodian authorities outline measures to prevent wild monkey laundering through breeding facilities.
- This comes after Cambodian authorities responded to questions posed by the CITES animals committee in July 2024 regarding discrepancies between reported trade data and suspiciously high reproductive rates among captive-bred monkeys.
- The high birth rate among Cambodia’s breeding facilities suggests “that some regular supply of wild specimens was necessary (at least in the past) to maintain a high reproductive output at least in some facilities,” the animal committee wrote.
- Animal rights activists say this could be a game changer for the biomedical research industry.

Camera traps capture first glimpse of genetically distinct chimps in southwestern Nigeria
In a win for Nigeria’s only Indigenous grassroots conservation organization, camera traps installed in Ise Conservation Area have captured the first known video of a resident Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee. The individual, seen swinging between tree branches and feeding on figs, is a mature male in his prime, said Rachel Ashegbofe Ikemeh, founder director of the South-West/Niger […]
Nigeria’s new coastal highway runs over communities & biodiversity hotspots
- Fifty years after it was first proposed, construction of a $12 billion highway from Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos east across the Niger Delta to the city of Calabar has begun.
- Nigeria’s government says the project will improve transport links and stimulate economic development across a densely populated region.
- The highway passes through or near several biodiversity hotspots, including two that are known to be home to endangered Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees and critically endangered Niger Delta red colobus.
- Worrying questions have been raised over environmental and social impact assessments for the highway as well as compensation for people who will lose land and property.

To conserve chimps, understand their genetic traits and local adaptations, says study
- Chimpanzees are adapted to live across diverse habitats in Africa, but little is known about the potential adaptation of chimps in different environments.
- A new study has found that these apes possess genetic traits that help them adapt to different habitat conditions, some of which may be protecting them against malaria.
- The scientists say that, as human activities and climate change continue to threaten chimpanzees’ existence, understanding their genetics and natural history enhances knowledge of how to ensure their long-term survival and conservation.
- Given their vital ecological roles, evolutionary significance, and precarious status, chimpanzee conservation is an urgent global priority.

Increase in gibbon trafficking into India has conservationists worried
- In recent months, seizure incidents of gibbons trafficked from Southeast Asia into India have increased.
- The growing demand for gibbons as pets is behind the increased trafficking, fueled by social media and aided by porous borders and weak enforcement of wildlife laws.
- Since the trafficked gibbons are caught from the wild, the process of capture causes deaths, disturbs gibbon social structures, and causes life-long trauma for those captured alive.
- In light of increased trafficking incidents, conservationists call for stricter law enforcement, improved training to detect wildlife crimes, increased awareness, and repatriation of seized gibbons to their countries of origin.

Justice for people, animals and the environment are inextricable, Arcus Foundation says
Bryan Simmons, communications vice president at the Arcus Foundation, joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss the 25-year-old foundation’s philosophy, human rights focus, and how the latter is linked with conservation. “ We think about humans, nonhuman animals, and the environment as one inextricable whole that has many, maybe even an unlimited number of component elements that are […]
Coming to a retailer near you: Illegal palm oil from an orangutan haven
- A surge of deforestation for oil palm plantations in a Sumatran orangutan reserve means top consumer brands may be selling products with illegal oil palm in them, a new report says.
- Rainforest Action Network (RAN) says satellite imagery shows much of the deforestation in Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve occurred from 2021 onward.
- That means any palm oil produced from plantations established on land cleared during that time would be banned from entering the European market under the EU’s antideforestation regulation (EUDR).
- Brands such as Procter & Gamble and palm oil traders like Musim Mas have responded to the findings by dropping as suppliers the mills alleged to be processing palm fruit from the deforested areas.

Five-month-old male gorilla, victim of illegal wildlife trade, seized in Istanbul
On Dec. 22, 2024, Turkish customs officers conducting a random search of a plane’s cargo hold found a surprise stowaway inside a small wooden crate with holes: a malnourished baby gorilla dressed in a soiled T-shirt. The Turkish Airlines flight was headed from Nigeria to Thailand and was transiting via Istanbul, authorities told local media. […]
Elephants, gorillas and chimps hold out in Cameroon’s largest protected landscape
- A new survey finds that populations of forest elephants, lowland gorillas and chimpanzees have remained relatively stable in a large landscape in southeastern Cameroon.
- In some cases, populations actually rose significantly in the region’s protected areas, but declined on the outskirts.
- Officials attribute this “positive” trend to hard work and the implementation of a “permanent presence technique” to deter poaching by engaging more closely with local communities.
- However, they say more effort is still needed to combat poaching for tusks and the trafficking of great apes.

‘Nightmare’ fire threatens iconic Madagascar national park
A mighty blaze in Madagascar’s Ranomafana National Park is menacing the home of the world’s rarest lemur species. Disastrous dry conditions have turned the biodiversity haven into a tinderbox. The park, one of the country’s leading tourist destinations, is a 10-hour drive from Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, and is also home to the prestigious Centre ValBio […]
Bonobo numbers in DRC park stable, but signs of decline appear
Bonobo populations in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Salonga National Park remained steady between 2002 and 2018, but there are worrying signals of decline, a recent study has found. For decades, Salonga has been known to host the largest known population of bonobos (Pan paniscus), an endangered great ape found only in the DRC. However, […]
What singing lemurs can tell us about the origin of music
MADAGASCAR – It turns out that the Indri Indri lemurs of Madagascar can carry a tune. Researchers have found that these furry, tree-dwelling creatures use music to communicate with one another, likely for generations. Through collecting songs and calls produced by 20 indri groups in Madagascar’s rainforests over the span of 15 years, the scientists […]
Indonesian company defies order, plants acacia in orangutan habitat
- The Indonesian company PT Mayawana Persada has shifted focus from clearing peatlands in western Borneo to planting acacia on previously cleared lands in defiance of a government order to restore damaged peatlands.
- The lands are home to the critically endangered Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), and any habitat loss pushes the animal closer to extinction.
- Mayawana Persada’s concession spans nearly 140,000 hectares (345,900 acres), overlapping with more than 83,000 hectares (205,100 acres) of carbon-rich peatlands and more than 90,000 hectares (222,400 acres) of Bornean orangutan habitat.

Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys were found in only two places on Earth. Now it’s one
- A survey to find the critically endangered Tonkin-snub nosed monkey in Vietnam found no trace of it in one of two remaining forest patches it was known to inhabit.
- The species was last seen in Quan Ba Forest in 2020; now, the Khau Ca protected area, home to about 200 of the monkeys, may be the last remaining habitat for the species.
- Conservationists are calling for urgent and greater efforts to protect the remaining population.

Rare new Guinean flower is ‘canary in a coal mine’ — but in an actual iron mine
- Scientists have described a new species of flower that appears to only grow in a small forest patch on the slopes of a mountain range in Guinea, West Africa, where extensive open-cast mining for iron ore is set to begin soon.
- There are thought to be as few as 100 of the Gymnosiphon fonensis flowers in existence in the Boyboyba Forest, which is part of the Pic de Fon classified forest reserve in the southeast of the country.
- Mining firm Rio Tinto has pledged to protect the Boyboyba Forest and the plants and animals that live in it.
- But Boyboyba makes up only a tiny fraction within a mosaic of forests and grasslands whose ecological integrity depends on linkages extending across Simandou’s 100-kilometer (60-mile) length.

Armed conflict, not Batwa people, at heart of Grauer’s gorillas’ past decline in DRC park
- The decline in critically endangered Grauer’s gorillas between 1994 and 2003 in the highland sector of Kahuzi-Biega National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo was due to the impacts of armed conflict, rather than the presence or absence of Indigenous communities, according to a new study.
- The finding, including recent analysis of forest loss in parts of the park where Indigenous Batwa people returned, challenges simple but competing narratives that the region’s Batwa people are either forest destroyers or forest guardians, say various primatologists.
- After the onset of the Rwandan genocide and Congo Wars, which drove an influx of refugees, poaching, hunting and mining in the region, estimates of Grauer’s gorillas dropped from about 258 to 130 individuals, only to rise again once the Second Congo War ended.
- Researchers and conservation authorities say conservation in Kahuzi-Biega National Park remains challenging, but that Indigenous people should be included in environmental stewardship.

Gum-eating Tanzanian monkey is AWOL, fueling extinction fears
- There have been no confirmed sightings of Tanzania’s critically endangered southern patas monkeys for more than a year, raising fears the species is edging ever closer to extinction.
- In 2021, there were estimated to be fewer than 200 southern patas monkeys left in the wild, restricted to the western portion of Serengeti National Park.
- Researchers have appealed to members of the public to record sightings of the shy but distinctive animals, but only two separate sightings were made in 2022, one in 2023, and none so far in 2024.
- The species is due to be featured in the IUCN’s Primates in Peril, a list of the world’s 25 most endangered primates, for the second year running.

Monitoring group cracks down on deforestation in Cameroon gorilla sanctuary
- Mengame Gorilla Sanctuary was created to protect some 26,780 hectares in southern Cameroon, and is the only large functional protected area in the region.
- In addition to critically endangered western lowland gorillas, Mengame is a refuge for an abundance of wildlife, including forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) — also critically endangered — and endangered chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).
- Logging concessions and villages surround Mengame, and satellite data show forest loss encroaching on the sanctuary and trickling into it.
- Cameroonian civil society organization Action for Sustainable Development investigated encroachment into the reserve after noticing deforestation alerts via satellite data.

Illegal gold mining drives deforestation in DRC reserve home to ‘African unicorn’
- The Okapi Wildlife Reserve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo protects vast tracks of primary Congo Basin rainforest, and is a stronghold for endangered species including the iconic okapi (Okapia johnstoni) and African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis).
- The reserve is also the home to Indigenous Mbuti and Efe forest peoples, who depend on forest resources.
- Deforestation in the reserve remained high in 2023, and continued to spread this year, according to satellite data from the Global Forest Watch platform.
- Illegal artisanal and semi-industrial gold mining within the reserve is driving deforestation, poaching and environmental destruction.

Logging persists in Cameroon’s wildlife-rich Ebo Forest despite warnings
- Satellite data and imagery show that logging has continued in Cameroon’s species-rich Ebo Forest since 2022, despite repeated warnings from conservationists and local communities.
- The logging operations are being carried out by two companies, SCIEB and the little-known Sextransbois.
- Conservation experts warn of the potential for conflicts between loggers and local communities because of disrupted access.
- The Cameroonian government says it has an “ecological conscience” and is keen on the preservation of the country’s wildlife resources.

A Nigerian reserve, once a stronghold for chimps, is steadily losing its forest to farming
- Oluwa Forest Reserve once protected an island of old growth forest in southwestern Nigerian.
- But satellite data show only about half of its intact forest remained at the turn of the century — and it’s only dwindled further since then.
- Poverty-driven smallholder farms and profit-driven industrial plantations are the main causes of deforestation in the reserve.
- Researchers worry that habitat loss in Oluwa is driving endangered species — such as the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee — to local extinction.

Gibbons found to perform dance routines akin to ‘the robot,’ but why?
- Scientists have documented scores of animal species that perform elaborate dance displays for a variety of purposes: from courting cranes to pair-bonding penguins and waggle-dancing honeybees.
- New research and video evidence show that adult female crested gibbons also perform captivating dances in both captive and wild settings.
- The funky sequences of rump, arm and leg twitches have in the past been likened to the human “robot dance” and hypothesized as fulfilling a role in gibbon courtship.
- Experts say improved understanding of the dance brings new insight into small ape cognition and social structures, which will ultimately help conservationists better design and implement interventions to protect them.

Study finds bonobos more diverse, and more vulnerable, than previously thought
- Recently published research finds that bonobos show a much deeper degree of genetic diversity than previously thought, with the species split into three distinct subgroups that diverged tens of thousands of years ago.
- The study is based on a detailed analysis of the genomes of 30 wild-born captive bonobos, cross-referenced with more limited data from 136 wild bonobos.
- Separation into three genetically isolated groups means that each group is more vulnerable than a single unified population would be, and that loss of any of these groups would result in a significant loss of the species’ genetic diversity.

Conservationists mobilize to save Sierra Leone national park and its chimpanzees
- Sierra Leone’s Loma Mountains National Park (LMNP) encompasses the highest mountain peak in West Africa, along with valuable habitat for many threatened animals — including critically endangered western chimpanzees.
- However, satellite data show the park lost 6% of its primary forest cover between 2002 and 2023.
- Clearing in the park is being driven by farmers and ranchers who say there is not enough agricultural land in their communities and no other livelihood options; illegal marijuana cultivation is also an issue in the park.
- Conservationists, park officials, international agencies and local residents are working together to protect the park through efforts such as planting trees, training rangers, implementing educational programs in schools and promoting alternative livelihoods for surrounding communities.

Canopy bridges serve a lifeline for Sumatra’s tree-dwelling primates
- An NGO is working with local authorities in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province to build canopy bridges for primates to safely cross roads that fragment their forest habitats.
- Pakpak Bharat district has seen rapid growth of new roads to improve communities’ access to schools and hospitals, with the trade-off being that many of these roads disrupt wildlife connectivity.
- The bridges, designed to meet the needs of different species, have been used by various wildlife, though not yet the critically endangered orangutans that the designers had in mind, and are monitored regularly through camera traps and maintenance checks.
- Conservationists highlight the bridges’ role in preventing inbreeding among isolated populations and sustaining the ecosystem’s biodiversity, with hopes to expand the initiative across Sumatra.

Langurs in Bangladesh face extinction as hybridization between species escalates
- Bangladesh is home to less than 500 Phayre’s langurs and 600 capped langurs in the rainforests in the country’s northeast.
- A recent study has unveiled a trend of hybridization between Phayre’s langurs and capped langurs in Bangladesh, which are listed as critically endangered and endangered, respectively, by IUCN.
- Hybridization is a vital indicator of ecological change, and researchers are raising serious concerns about the genetic health of the two species and their future existence in the wild.
- The study holds human activities such as deforestation, habitat fragmentation and hunting as some of the causes responsible for increasing the risk of hybridization cases.

WWF report offers glimmer of conservation hope — yet warns of a planet in peril
- WWF’s recent “Living Planet Report” offers a bit of hope, showing that mountain gorilla populations increased by 3% between 2010 and 2016.
- Conservation interventions such as dedicated management of protected areas, extensive engagement with communities surrounding parks, close monitoring of habituated gorilla groups and veterinary interventions where needed are thought to have contributed, WWF notes.
- Still, the report shows that wildlife populations across Africa have declined by 76% in the past 50 years.
- The peril of the planet is also linked to the fact that financing is inadequate, with public and private entities very often investing in activities that harm ecosystems and drive climate change.

Orangutan conservation and communication: Gary Shapiro’s half-century journey from zoos to the wilds of Borneo
- Gary Shapiro’s work on orangutan cognition and communication spans five decades, beginning with his pioneering studies teaching sign language to ex-captive orangutans in Borneo.
- His research evolved into a lifelong commitment to orangutan conservation, leading him to co-found organizations like Orangutan Foundation International, focusing on protecting orangutans and their rainforest habitats from logging and palm oil plantations.
- Shapiro advocates for “orangutan personhood,” emphasizing their intellectual and emotional capacities, and calls for global action to save both the orangutans and their critical habitats amidst the ongoing climate and biodiversity crises.
- Shapiro recently spoke with Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler about his work and the state of orangutans in the wild.

Indigenous knowledge proves key in a study of plants gorillas use to self-medicate
- Seeking plants with potential medical properties, a team of researchers in Gabon looked to the practices of two distinct groups: traditional healers living on the fringes of Gabon’s Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, and the gorillas that live inside the park, which are known to host pathogens like E. coli without developing serious illnesses.
- The researchers interviewed Indigenous Vungu healers and herbalists about their medical usage of local plants, then followed gorillas in the park to observe which plants the apes also consumed, ultimately selecting four plant species to test.
- The bark extracts tested by the team were found to have antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, as well as other bioactive compounds.
- This research, one expert says, highlights the shared evolutionary history of humans and gorillas, and the importance of preserving both apes and their habitats.

Wildlife-rich mangroves suffer as Indonesia ramps up construction of new capital
- The development of Indonesia’s new capital city on the island of Borneo has resulted in clearing of mangrove forests that are home to threatened wildlife such as proboscis monkeys and Irrawaddy dolphins.
- The government has repeatedly claimed that the Nusantara project will be “green,” but experts attribute the ongoing deforestation to a lack of planning by the developers.
- With around 3,900 proboscis monkeys, Balikpapan Bay is a stronghold for the endangered species; but the new capital city’s footprint overlaps with 41% of their habitat.
- The government agency overseeing the project insists it’s doing what it can to mitigate the impacts on wildlife and ecosystems through planning, as well as cracking down on contractors destroying the mangroves.

From selfies to treetops: Thai NGOs rescue and release captive gibbons
- Thailand is home to four gibbon species, all of which are listed as endangered due to habitat loss and wildlife trafficking.
- Rescue, rehabilitation and release projects play an important role in protecting gibbon welfare and restoring ecosystems, but effectively rehabilitating and releasing gibbons is both difficult and costly.
- Two organizations, the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project and Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, have been rehabilitating gibbons in Thailand for more than 20 years.

In Brazil’s Amazon, land invasions — and fires — threaten a protected reserve
- In Brazil’s state of Maranhão, one of the last slices of remaining rainforest is under threat from invasions and fires, which has complicated efforts to protect this area of rich biodiversity from the advance of agriculture and cattle ranching.
- Over the last 12 months, satellites detected 122,083 high-confidence deforestation alerts within the Gurupi Biological Reserve, home to species such as the Kaapori capuchin (Cebus kaapori), one of the world’s most critically endangered primates.
- Authorities have struggled to gain control over the region, which has been marked by a complex history of illegal logging and land settlement. More than 6,000 people still live within the conservation area.
- As deforestation advances, the climate is changing and leaving this region of the Amazon Rainforest drier and more prone to wildfires, which pose a risk to neighboring Indigenous territories like the Carú reserve.

Chatterbox chimps converse just like humans (but with more gestures)
- Across human languages and cultures, conversing involves listening to the speaker and rapidly responding to them. This phenomenon, known as turn-taking, has so far been associated with human languages.
- A new study that analyzed conversations between five groups of chimpanzees finds that one of our closest relatives also take rapid turns in their chatter, mainly involving gestures. Chimpanzees take about 200 milliseconds between gestures before responding back and forth, just like humans.
- While researchers observed minor differences in the timing across groups, the findings suggest this is a species-wide phenomenon that can possibly be seen in all apes.
- The findings suggest that turn-taking during conversations likely evolved before languages were born.

DRC’s golden-bellied mangabeys: A little-known but much-threatened monkey
- The Congo rainforest is home to one of Africa’s least-known and most threatened monkeys: the golden-bellied mangabey.
- Golden-bellied mangabeys form extraordinarily large troops of dozens of individuals, and field observations reveal a complex social structure reminiscent of that of humans.
- The species faces significant threats from habitat loss, hunting and illegal trade, with experts pushing for stronger legal protections, including an upgrade from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I listing.
- Conservation efforts are slowly gaining momentum, with priorities including law reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo, upgrading the CITES listing, and conducting comprehensive surveys to better understand the species’ distribution and ecology.

How these howler monkeys recovered from near extinction
Brown howler monkeys are endemic to the Atlantic Forest in Brazil and Argentina and became one of the 25 most threatened primate species following a yellow fever outbreak in late 2016. In response, Brazilian government agencies and other conservation organizations launched a nationwide population management plan, focused on coordinating captive facilities with experts who could […]
Bangladesh wildlife sanctuary continues to lose primary forest
Primary forests inside Pablakhali Wildlife Sanctuary, one of Bangladesh’s largest protected areas, continue to get cleared, recent satellite data show. The tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forests of Pablakhali have historically been home to rare and threatened species such as Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa), sloth bears (Melursus ursinus), western hoolock gibbons (Hylobates […]
A Guatemalan reserve turns from civil war refuge to deforestation hotspot
- Illegal deforestation in Guatemala’s Sierra del Lacandón National Park is accelerating, driven by cattle ranching and drug-trafficking activities.
- The park is a critical biological corridor, home to numerous threatened species, and connects protected areas in Guatemala and Mexico.
- Indigenous communities, many of which settled in the area during the civil war, are now involved in deforestation activities under pressure from powerful political and economic figures, threatening the region’s ecological integrity.

‘A harmonious human-primate society’: Interview with Whitley winner Kuenzang Dorji
- In May, wildlife biologist Kuenzang Dorji was honored with a Whitley Award for his work to protect Gee’s golden langurs (Trachypithecus geei), among the world’s most endangered primates, found exclusively in the fragile Himalayan foothills of Bhutan and India.
- The langurs’ survival is increasingly threatened by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, all of which is exacerbated by climate change, which in turn affects the animals’ feeding patterns.
- As the animals are pushed closer to agricultural areas, human-wildlife conflict has increased between farmers and langurs; Kuenzang Dorji’s work centers on community-driven programs to reduce this conflict.
- Kuenzang Dorji recently spoke about his conservation efforts and the Whitley Award with Mongabay.

Africa’s great ape sanctuaries are feeling the heat from climate change
- While a growing body of research highlights the impacts of climate change on wild apes, sanctuaries caring for apes are also feeling the impacts of a warming world.
- Sanctuaries across Africa are affected by changing weather patterns, including both droughts and floods, increasing the challenges of caring for resident apes.
- Extreme weather also increases the likelihood of human-wildlife conflict in conservation areas, and makes daily life more difficult for sanctuary staff and their families and communities.

Madagascar lemurs, tortoises seized in Thai bust reveal reach of wildlife trafficking
- The recent seizure in Thailand of 48 lemurs and more than 1,200 critically endangered tortoises endemic to Madagascar underscores the global scale of wildlife trafficking networks that use Thailand as a transshipment hub.
- The operation was aided by intelligence from a joint transnational investigation between Thai law enforcement agencies and international antitrafficking organizations working to dismantle global wildlife trafficking networks spanning Asia, Africa and South America.
- Among the confiscated animals were ring-tailed lemurs, common brown lemurs, spider tortoises and radiated tortoises, all of which were suspected to be destined for illegal pet markets in Asia.
- While Madagascar authorities are keen to see the animals repatriated, experts caution that the country’s capacity to receive them are woefully lacking, and urge the government to step up law enforcement, combat systemic corruption and boost surveillance in Madagascar’s remote protected areas.

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