These are the names we have nearly lost: these are the primates who just barely survived the 20th century, and who — without our immediate intervention — will never survive the 21st.

Each of the lineages below is unique, in voice and shape and ancient home; each name speaks to a former multitude, long since broken and scattered to a dwindling few. Each handful of survivors is all that remains of an unknown history, woven through deep ages and written in the substance of themselves — each a vital thread in the weft of our living world.

But all their futures are unraveling now, while we stand in distant witness. These are the primates listed as Critically Endangered, about whom far too little is known: save that their populations are decimated, their homes are charred and fallen; and without our efforts, they will be lost in a handful of years.

 

PLEASE NOTE: These pages are still being updated with new data from the 2015-2016 IUCN Red List assessments; for the most current information on primate threat status, please refer to the detailed summaries of the Red List assessment.