November 26, 2003

• I think we've found the culprit.
• I find it hard to believe there are people out there who weren't aware of this. The great apes have been endangered for a very long time and we've known for the last twenty years that there are literally only a few hundred gorillas left in the wild at most. It's all very well to ask for monetary donations, but the main problem is that we are encroaching on their territory and forcing them into smaller and smaller areas to feed and live. Buying a few acres for a reserve will make no difference - chimps and gorillas are still killed by locals if they dare to set foot on human-owned land. Then you've got poachers who are still killing or kidnapping (for want of a better word) apes for money and/or scientific research. Unless we can educate the people that are doing the killing, and teach them to respect these animals, give them the space they need and allow them to feed where they need to, we'll lose them in a heartbeat. Read anything by Goodall and she speaks clearly on the many ways humans are intentionally torturing and killing our closest relatives. It's truly heartbreaking.
• Hunting and Ebola devastating Great Ape Populations. (I remember reading a big article in the Guardian before about the amount of apes eaten in Africa - and the amount of ape meat exported to Europe and America, too - but I can't seem to find it at the moment. Sorry)
• Great post, homunculus! Fancy seeing you here! Dng: I remember that article and have linked to it before, but couldn't find it either. There are several "bush meat" websites - here's one of the best.
• I instantly thought of this quote from Planet of the Apes, 1968: To suggest that we can learn anything about the simian nature from a study of man is sheer nonsense. Why, man is a nuisance. He eats up his food supply in the forest, then migrates to our green belts and ravages our crops. The sooner he is exterminated, the better. It's a question of simian survival. Apes are fascinating creatures and losing them in my lifetime would be devastating.
• Ha! Take that, Dr. Zaius! You damn dirty ape!
• I thought apes were supposed to evolve into something. I can't remember, what do they evolve into again?
• The eminent wildlife expert Dr Richard Leakey says fencing in protected areas in Africa and Asia could help to arrest the decline of endangered great apes.
• Chimps' Days May Be Numbered
• Apes endangered, news at 11. Sorry, couldn't help myself.
• *tackles alnedra*
• For a moment there, I thought tracicle beat me to this thread!
• Ha!
• *falls over, screams*
• Just wait until you read the next few threads!
• You punks! Honest, decent people are trying to earn a living!
• Dang, this is getting dangerous.
• I love the smell of danger in the morning, its the smell of-
• The smell of Danger in the morning definitely beats the smell of Danger at the end of the day.
• /pops up and pokes Nickdanger in the eyes /disappears again
• Almost a third of the world's primates are in danger of extinction because of destruction of their habitats, a report by conservation groups has warned.