Cuteness Kills Endangered Monkeys
source: http://www.conservation.org/FMG/Articles/Pages/colombia_threatened_tamarin_spider
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- julesrs007
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Illegal Wildlife Trade - Too Cute for Their Own Good
Cotton-top tamarins are smaller than spider monkeys, but they are equally charming, with outsize feet and shocks of wild white hair. They, too, are losing habitat at an alarming rate.
According to Anne Savage, Senior Conservation Biologist for Disney's Animal Programs, cotton-tops can survive in degraded forest but not isolated forest, island, that are disconnected from other kinds of habitat. Once, Savage recalls, she received a phone call from field staff saying that worker were cutting down trees [at the same time] as they were trying to count monkeys.
Between 30 and 70 percent of original habitat [has] disappeared she continues, due to deforestation for agricultural purposes, clearing land for cattle grazing or using trees for building materials and firewood.
Cotton-tops have also been taken for the biomedical trade. And as pets. They shoot the mother with a slingshot and take the young off her back when she falls to the ground says Savage.
Being cute is prized among humans, but for primates such as the variegated spider monkey (Ateles hybridus) and the cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus), the trait can be costly.
Alba Lucia Morales, of CI-partner Fundac in Biodiversa Colombia, admits to thinking the spider monkeys are the most wonderful in the forest. They are big and noisy the pregnant females are beautiful and the babies are gray and very cute.
But beauty in these animals is both blessing and curse. Deforestation and illegal wildlife trade threaten many animals, and these monkeys have an added challenge. No one is entirely sure exactly how many are taken each year for the illegal pet trade.
More Info:
http://www.conservation.org/FMG/Articles/Pages/colombia_threatened_tamarin_spide...
Cotton-top tamarins are smaller than spider monkeys, but they are equally charming, with outsize feet and shocks of wild white hair. They, too, are losing habitat at an alarming rate.
According to Anne Savage, Senior Conservation Biologist for Disney's Animal Programs, cotton-tops can survive in degraded forest but not isolated forest, island, that are disconnected from other kinds of habitat. Once, Savage recalls, she received a phone call from field staff saying that worker were cutting down trees [at the same time] as they were trying to count monkeys.
Between 30 and 70 percent of original habitat [has] disappeared she continues, due to deforestation for agricultural purposes, clearing land for cattle grazing or using trees for building materials and firewood.
Cotton-tops have also been taken for the biomedical trade. And as pets. They shoot the mother with a slingshot and take the young off her back when she falls to the ground says Savage.
Being cute is prized among humans, but for primates such as the variegated spider monkey (Ateles hybridus) and the cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus), the trait can be costly.
Alba Lucia Morales, of CI-partner Fundac in Biodiversa Colombia, admits to thinking the spider monkeys are the most wonderful in the forest. They are big and noisy the pregnant females are beautiful and the babies are gray and very cute.
But beauty in these animals is both blessing and curse. Deforestation and illegal wildlife trade threaten many animals, and these monkeys have an added challenge. No one is entirely sure exactly how many are taken each year for the illegal pet trade.
More Info:
http://www.conservation.org/FMG/Articles/Pages/colombia_threatened_tamarin_spide...
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fiat_lux088
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What's with human nature, as soon as we see what we like, we take it no matter the consequence. We love using special animals as trophies. Elephants for ivory, whale sharks for decrotive fins, and of course various endangered species are a must for the taste palette of the wealthy.
I'm ashamed to be human. - 3 years ago
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fiat_lux088
