Great Apes, Species threatened by extinction
The hominid family is the smallest mammalian family with 7 living species, 6 of which live in the tropical forests of Africa and Asia. The seventh is Homo sapiens, our species. With a common gene pool of between 97% and 98.5%, great apes are our closest cousins in the animal kingdom. In addition to humans, there are 3 genera of great apes. The first two are found in Africa and the last one in Asia.
Chimpanzees
There are two species of chimpanzees.
Pan troglodytes occur from southern Senegal to western Uganda and Tanzania, through the forest belt north of the Congo River. They live in fission-fusion societies of up to 150 individuals, splitting into small groups when they travel or feed during the day and meeting to sleep at night. There is a distinct linear dominance hierarchy among male chimpanzees, with males dominating females. They are generally fruit and plant-eaters, but they also eat insects, eggs, and meat. Chimpanzees use tools to access food. Chimpanzees groom every day, and this activity has important social functions, such as calming individuals and strengthening their bonds with each other. (source: UN-GRASP). There are 4 subspecies of Pan troglodytes that live in different ranges: the western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus), the Nigerian-Cameroonian chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti), the central chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) and the eastern chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii).
The bonobo (Pan paniscus) is the second species of chimpanzee. They are only found in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They live in fission-fusion societies of up to 100 individuals, which usually divide into small groups when they search for food during the day and gather to sleep at night. The generally peaceful, egalitarian and cooperative bonobo society is attributed to the evolution of a very complex social system. Female bonobos are dominant in bonobo society, with women forming close ties with men through same-sex social contacts, which is believed to limit aggression. Fruits make up half of the bonobo's diet, but they also eat vegetation and occasionally supplement their diet with insects, larvae, earthworms, eggs and small mammals. (source : UN-GRASP)
Gorillas
Gorillas (two species: Gorilla gorilla and Gorilla beringei) are mainly herbivorous terrestrial apes that live in the forests of Central Africa. They are among the most powerful and striking animals, not only for their size and strength, but also for their gentle and humane behaviour. Social groups of gorillas usually consist of an adult male or silverback, several adult females and their offspring. Group size is usually 5 to 10 individuals, but can vary from 2 to more than 50 members. The bond that a silverback has with its females is at the heart of the social life of gorillas.
Gorillas are mainly plant eaters and spend almost half of the day feeding on stems, bamboo shoots and various fruits, supplemented by bark and invertebrates. (source : UN-GRASP)
There are two subspecies of Gorilla gorilla: the Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and the Cross-River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli). As well as two subspecies of Gorilla beringei: the mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) and the western lowland gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri).
Orangutans
Native to Indonesia and Malaysia, orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus, Pongo tapanuli and Pongo abelii) are only found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Their name is derived from the Malaysian and Indonesian expression "orang hutan", which means "person of the forest". Orangutans spend most of their time in the trees, and live a more solitary lifestyle than the African great apes. Social bonds are mainly created between mothers and their offspring, who stay together until adolescence. Fruits make up about 60% of the diet of orangutans; other foods include young leaves, shoots, seeds, bark, insects and bird eggs. Orangutans use a variety of sophisticated tools and build sleeping nests each night from branches and foliage. (source: UN-GRASP)
There are 3 subspecies of Pongo-pygmaeus: the Northwest Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus), the Northeast Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus morio) and the Southwest Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii).
Great apes: what present for what future?
With an estimated population of between 518,000 and 688,000 gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans living in the wild, all great ape species are either Endangered or Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List and CITES Appendix 1, indicating that they are at very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future, probably within our own lifetime.
This situation is very alarming and great apes continue to be threatened, underlining the crucial need for multi-stakeholder initiatives, such as the UNEP-UNESCO Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP), to ensure their long-term survival in their natural habitat and to give a voice to our closest relatives at the global level.
Habitat degradation, disease, conflict and illegal trade are the main factors contributing to the disappearance of wild great apes in Africa. The value of great apes is considerable and solutions that reconcile development and conservation of great apes are often neglected. Biodiversity conservation programmes, carbon sequestration and sustainable tourism can have lasting economic benefits for countries while conserving the ecological value of the ecosystems that support great apes.
Great apes and infectious diseases: a growing danger?
Zoonoses are diseases that are naturally transmitted between animals and humans, and vice versa.
In the 1990s, Ebola epidemics in Gabon and the Republic of Congo have killed more than 90% or even 95% of gorillas and chimpanzees in some regions. Since then, thousands of great apes were also decimated by this disease. They are also particularly vulnerable to respiratory diseases, such as coronaviruses. OC43, a human-transmitted strain of coronavirus, was detected in chimpanzees in Côte d'Ivoire a few years ago. The 2020 COVID19 pandemic therefore raises fears of further losses among great apes.
UNESCO's commitment for the protection of great apes
Within the framework of its mandate, UNESCO makes an essential contribution to the conservation of biodiversity and the protection of great apes and their habitats by mobilizing its expertise in the fields of natural sciences, social sciences, culture, education and communication.
Advocacy and Awareness Raising
UN-GRASP
UNESCO is working with the United Nations Environment on the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP). GRASP is an alliance of UN agencies, great ape range states, non range states, intergovernmental organizations, conservation organizations and private companies. It aims to eliminate the imminent threat of extinction faced by gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans.
Awareness-raising
UNESCO carries out various awareness-raising activities among the public, its Member States and its network.
In June 2020, two webinars (one in English, one in French) are being held to discuss the health of biodiversity, zoonoses and in particular how to prevent them, risks that great apes and humans are facing and how to reduce them. They bring together primatologist specialists, field partners and the public.
Protection and sustainable management of habitats
Through World Heritage sites and biosphere reserves, UNESCO is involved in the protection and sustainable management of great ape habitats.
Among these sites, the Biosphere reserve of Gombe Masito Ugalla (Tanzania), approved in 2018, is the historic site where Dr. Jane Goodall began her research on chimpanzees in 1960.
The Gunung Leuser Biosphere Reserve and Sumatra Rainforest World Heritage Site covers 100% of the range of the Orangutan of Sumatra.
This detailed map, part of a larger brochure on UNESCO's commitment to the protection of Great Apes, covers several data regarding Great Apes. The map can be read in different ways. One reading indicated where Great Apes may be found, how many UNESCO-Designated sites are habitats to great apes and thus home many species or sub-species UNESCO currently cover. Another reading provides information of Great Apes themselves, their range areas, how many they are, the threats they face, or what kind of good practices have lead to their increased numbers.
Improving knowledge
UNESCO is improving knowledge about great apes and their habitats by mapping traditional cultural knowledge and practices related to great apes and their territories for their protection, mapping their habitats and observing their populations.
Exchange networks
The creation of the AfriMAB sub-network for great ape biosphere reserves enables the exchange of knowledge and best practices related to great apes.
Thus, one of the objectives of the webinars "COVID-19 and Biodiversity Loss: Another Threat to Great Apes? "organized in June 2020 is the sharing of knowledge between the managers of the reserves concerned on monitoring the health of great apes and the best practices to adopt to prevent the spread of zoonoses. To this end, a series of posters has been developed with the support of the Sebitoli Chimpanzee Project on barrier gestures to adopt for the protection of great apes.
Observation of biosphere reserves by drones
In 2019, a regional training workshop on the application of new technologies for monitoring and evaluation of natural resources in biosphere reserves and World Heritage sites was organized in Garoua, Cameroon. Building on this experience, a training of technicians and implementation of a protocol for monitoring the habitat of great apes with the use of UAVs will be set up in 2021 in biosphere reserves and mixed sites (biosphere reserves and World Heritage sites) in partnership with the French National Museum of Natural History.