A new report is warning nearly half the world’s primates are facing extinction because of deforestation and hunting. The International Union for Conservation of Nature says 48 percent of monkeys and apes face a growing danger because of eroding habitats. The London Zoo’s conservation director, Jon Bielby, called the findings highly alarming.

Jon Bielby: “The report was aiming to assess the conservation status of all primates, so 634 species. And the findings of the report are very, very worrying for the conservation of primates: 48 percent were classified
as being threatened with extinction, and that’s an unprecedented rate among species and groups of species that have been assessed in the past.”

The 48 percent figure is an increase over five years ago, when 39 percent of primates were found to be at risk.