Apes in the News

The Apes in the News page lists a summary and links to news articles that are relevant to the work of the Ape Alliance and ape conservation.

To see pages of the older articles, please scroll to the bottom of the page. Alternativaly, use the search facility below, to find a particular article.

Civil society concerned that REDD deal will not stop the forests from falling

Accra Caucus on Forests and Climate Change

Press Release - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

17.00 December 12th 2009, Copenhagen

On 17 December 2009, the penultimate day of discussions in
Copenhagen, over 100 civil society organisations from all continents
and most forested nations, voiced their concern that the deal on
Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) is likely
to fail, despite being described as the most significant likely
outcome of Copenhagen. "Key unresolved issues for a successful REDD
agreement are now in the hands of ministers. It is most important that
they agree the strongest clauses for guaranteeing the rights of
indigenous peoples and local communities, and protecting natural
forests" said Samuel Nnah of the Centre for Environment and
Development in Cameroon.

12/12/2009
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Study highlights gibbon trade in Indonesia

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 7 December. A study focussing on the trade
in gibbons, recently published in the journal Endangered Species
Research, highlights the ongoing illegal trade in these threatened
species in western Indonesia.

The research, conducted by investigators based in England and
Malaysia, collected data from 22 zoos and nine wildlife rescue centres
and found some 600 gibbons present in these facilities. The most
common species kept as pets was the Siamang, from the Indonesian
island of Sumatra, with close to 200 individuals observed. Only six
Kloss' Gibbons from the Mentawai Islands were observed.

<http://www.traffic.org/home/2009/12/7/study-highlights-gibbon-trade-in-indonesia.html>

07/12/2009
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Organisations Unite in Parliament on Primate Welfare

On the 10th of December 2009, a petition with over 30,000 signatures
against the keeping of primates as pets in the UK will be formally
presented at 10 Downing Street; coinciding with a special event at the
Houses of Parliament on the same day which will highlight the issues
facing primates kept in captivity. Primate welfare specialists from
the UK charity, Wild Futures, have been working in conjunction with
the RSPCA and other high-profile animal welfare and conservation
organisations to ensure that the Primate Code is passed by Parliament
prior to its dissolution. The code aims to restrict the private
ownership of primates to specialist keepers and Wild Futures and
the RSPCA hope that it is a step towards ending the primate pet trade.

http://www.wildfutures.org/organisations-unite-parliament-primate-welfare

07/12/2009
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Orangutans struggle to survive as palm oil booms

The Independent Cinta, a baby orangutan found lost and alone in a vast Borneo palm oil plantation, now clings to a tree at a sanctuary for the great apes, staring intently at dozens of tourists. She is one of the casualties of the boom in palm oil -- used extensively for biofuel and processed food like margarine -- which has seen swathes of jungle felled in Borneo, an island split between Malaysia and Indonesia. http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/orangutans-struggle-to-survive-as-palm-oil-booms-1808700.html

24/11/2009
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Saving orangutans before extinction in Sumatra

By Arwa Damon - CNN Sumatra, Indonesia (CNN) -- A loud crack echoes throughout the canopy as two young orangutans come tumbling down, grasping at branches along the way to break their fall. They recover and sheepishly scamper back up. This is lesson one of jungle school here in the forests of central Sumatra, one of the few places where orangutans are being successfully rehabilitated into the wild. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/11/20/orangutan.sumatra/index.html

23/11/2009
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Transmitters implanted in orangutans for tracking after release into the wild

Jeremy Hance For the first time transmitters have been implanted in orangutans to track their daily movements. The Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) has implanted transmitters into three orangutans that have been released back into the wild from Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center in the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo. http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1123-hance_track_orangs.html

23/11/2009
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