NEARLY two thirds of primates are threatened with extinction according to an international group of conservation experts who are calling for urgent action to protect dwindling populations.

Research has found 60 per cent of recognised primate species worldwide are now threatened with extinction, and 75 per cent have declining populations, say the experts.

Escalating pressure from human activities such as cutting down forests, expanding agriculture and building dams and roads are putting apes, monkeys and other primates at risk of dying out.

Professor Jo Setchell, from Durham University’s department of anthropology, is one of the authors. She said: “This is a dire situation. We must prevent the mass extinction of our closest biological relatives. And it is possible.

“If we can reduce the unsustainable pressures we are putting on primates and their habitats, and make this a global priority, we can stop this downward spiral towards the destruction of these irreplaceable and fascinating species. I can’t imagine a world without other primates, but if we don’t act soon, we will soon be faced with one.”

Primates are an essential component of tropical biodiversity, contributing to forest regeneration and ecosystem health, and play important roles in the livelihoods, cultures and religions of many societies.

Aside from humans, there are 504 recognised species of primates, from the tiny Madame Berthe's mouse lemur which weighs just 30g to the 200kg male western and eastern gorillas.