. Earth Science News .
ABOUT US
Chimpanzees in the wild reduced to 'forest ghettos'
By Marlowe HOOD
Paris (AFP) June 4, 2019

Urban expansion and hunting have pushed chimpanzees, humanity's closest relative in the animal kingdom, into shrinking islets of wildness, top experts said Tuesday after a three-day meeting in Germany.

All four sub-species of the African primate are threatened with extinction, with at least one -- the western chimpanzee -- declining in number by more than 80 percent over three generations.

Forty chimp experts from around the world -- with a combined 300 years of field experience -- issued a collective appeal to save the only animal whose DNA overlaps with humans by 98 percent.

"Over the decades that we have been working with wild chimpanzee communities, we have all seen our study groups become isolated," they said in a statement.

"Chimpanzees are being reduced into living in forest ghettos."

The main threat to chimps and other large mammals is habitat loss.

Africa still has large tracts of undisturbed savannah and forest, but these areas are shrinking rapidly due growing cities, mining, deforestation, and industrial agriculture.

The continent's human population of more than 1.2 billion is expected to double by mid-century, and could top four billion by the end of the century.

Chimps number in the thousands for three of the sub-species, and about 250,000 for the eastern chimpanzee, found mainly in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Western chimpanzees have already been wiped out in Burkina Faso, Benin, Gambia, and possibly Togo.

"Forty years ago, we drove 100 kilometres (60 miles) on a mud road to reach the park boundaries while encountering chimpanzees and elephants," said Christopher Boesch, a professor at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, referring to the Tai National Park in Ivory Coast.

"Nowadays, you have to reach the park boundaries to see the first patch of forest."

- Last common ancestor -

Human encroachment and the hunting of chimpanzees for "bush meat" has also altered the social life and behaviour of the animals, said Crickette Sanz, an associate professor at Washington University in Missouri who has worked for decades in the Republic of Congo's Goualougo Triangle.

"When we first arrived in the Ndoki forest, the chimpanzees would often approach us with curiosity," she recalled.

Now they hide.

"It is wise that they have changed their behaviour -- their survival depends on it," Sanz added.

Compared to chimpanzees in pristine forests, those in areas disrupted by humans also showed a decrease in the diversity of learned behaviour, according to a recent study.

Scientists studying nearly 150 chimpanzee communities across 17 countries identified 31 actions -- including cracking nuts, extracting termites or ants with tools, collected honey, throwing stones as a form of communication -- that were done differently from one group to the next.

The more humans had carved up the environment -- building roads, clear-cutting trees, setting up palm oil plantation -- the more uniform these actions became.

The last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees lived about seven million years ago.

"We did not evolve from bonobos or chimpanzees but we share with them a common ancestry," said Martin Surbeck, a primatologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, also in Leipzig.

The famed anthropologist Irven DeVore once marvelled at humanity's indifference to our closest primate cousins.

"If we, in our travels in space, should encounter a creature that shared 98 percent of our genetic makeup, think of the money we would spend to study this species," he said.

"Such creatures exist on Earth and we are allowing them to become extinct."


Related Links
All About Human Beings and How We Got To Be Here


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


ABOUT US
Humans used northern migration routes to reach eastern Asia
Jena, Germany (SPX) Jun 03, 2019
Northern and Central Asia have been neglected in studies of early human migration, with deserts and mountains being considered uncompromising barriers. However, a new study by an international team argues that humans may have moved through these extreme settings in the past under wetter conditions. We must now reconsider where we look for the earliest traces of our species in northern Asia, as well as the zones of potential interaction with other hominins such as Neanderthals and Denisovans. Archa ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

ABOUT US
Italy, Malta rescue stricken migrants in Mediterranean

Malta navy rescues 75 migrants clinging to tuna pen

Maltese navy rescues more migrants

Military to set up tents for migrants on US-Mexico border

ABOUT US
Aluminum is the new steel: NUST MISIS scientists made it stronger than ever before

Scientists offer designer 'big atoms' on demand

China steps up threat to deprive US of rare earths

Origami-inspired materials could soften the blow for reusable spacecraft

ABOUT US
In Nigeria's Lagos, aquatic weed plagues waterways

Unexpected observation of ice at low temperature, high pressure questions water theory

Floating sweatshops: Is the fish you eat caught by 'slaves'?

Ocean and space exploration blend at URI's Graduate School of Oceanography

ABOUT US
Asia's glaciers provide buffer against drought

Climate change killing off Bering Sea puffins, say scientists

Unusual melting patterns spotted beneath Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf

Widespread permafrost degradation seen in high Arctic terrain

ABOUT US
North Korea swine flu outbreak puts South on edge

You can have your plate and eat it too, says Polish inventor

French watchdog bans sale of common pesticide

Farmers have less leisure time than hunter-gatherers, study suggests

ABOUT US
Strong 6.6 magnitude earthquake rocks El Salvador: USGS

Italy's Mount Etna sparks into life

Solving geothermal energy's earthquake problem

Scientists find telling early moment that indicates a coming megaquake

ABOUT US
Nigerian army moves thousands away from Boko Haram

Algeria students protest against army chief

Crisis Group urges 'dialogue' between Mali government, jihadists

Fierce divide as Botswana lifts hunting ban

ABOUT US
Chimpanzees catch and eat crabs

Chimps caught crabbing

Humans used northern migration routes to reach eastern Asia

Researchers wonder if ancient supernovae prompted human ancestors to walk upright









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.