Planet Without Apes
Humans’ closest relatives, the great apes, have been almost exterminated, and we have no one to blame but ourselves. In his straightforwardly written call to save our next of kin, noted primatologist Stanford (Significant Others, 2002; Biological Anthropology, 2011) examines the myriad challenges nonhuman primates face today. After a prologue discussing the real possibility of the loss of the great apes, Stanford devotes a chapter to each of the threats they face. The first chapter looks at the four species—chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, orangutan—and discusses their differences.In the second chapter, the major role that habitat loss plays in extinction is highlighted, and the third describes a specific threat apes face, being targeted as a food source in the bush-meat trade. Chapter 4 looks at the medical realm because such diseases as ebola and HIV spread back and forth between humans and nonhuman primates, and the fifth chapter examines the ethical and conservation issues of apes in captivity. Ecotourism, a double-edged sword in Stanford’s view, and the loss of unique local primate cultures round out the text. --Nancy Bent