Oxford scientists warn two thirds of primates threatened with mass extinction

4 days ago / Naomi Herring, Reporter



IT IS the '11th hour' for many primates as nearly two thirds are threatened with extinction, scientists have warned.

Escalating pressure from human activities such as cutting down forests, expanding agriculture and building dams and roads are putting apes, monkeys and other primates at risk of dying out, researchers writing in the journal Science Advances said.

Experts from Oxford Brookes University have warned without immediate action to protect them, human's closest relatives face mass extinctions in the next 25 to 50 years.

Professor Anna Nekaris, professor in anthropology at Oxford Brookes University and one of the report's authors said: "The impending extinction of our closest relatives should not be taken lightly.

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