麻豆影院

Many of the hallmarks of human civilization鈥攆rom roads and power lines to pet dogs鈥攁re taking a larger-than-expected toll on non-human primates living in Africa, according to two recent studies.

The findings result from a collaboration between CU 麻豆影院 and three South Africa-based institutions: the , the听 and a conservation organization called the (EWT). They take an almost forensic look at what is killing wild animals in South Africa. The country is home to five species of non-human primates, including greater (Otolemur crassicaudatus) and southern lesser (Galago moholi) bushbabies. These primates spend most of their lives in trees, and some are so small they can fit in the palm of your hand.听

In one study, scientists led by Birthe Linden at Lajuma听 in which non-human primates had been killed on roads or around power lines across the country. In a companion paper, the researchers 听domestic dogs pose to the animals.

The research shows the threats facing the world鈥檚 monkeys, apes and other non-human primates aren鈥檛 always easy to see, particularly for lesser-studied animals like bushbabies.

鈥淏ushbabies, especially, are an example of species that may be having problems, but we don鈥檛 know what they are until we go looking,鈥� said Michelle Sauther, a co-author of the two studies and professor of anthropology at CU 麻豆影院.

For her, the results border on personal.听

In the process of studying bushbabies in South Africa for more than a decade, Sauther and her colleagues got to know one male, in particular鈥攁 greater bushbaby with one eye who the team nicknamed Bruiser because he reminded them of an old prize fighter.

Then in 2019 Bruiser, who had bad and missing teeth, tried to move on the ground to reach a fig tree with easy-to-grab fruit. A pet dog found and killed him.听

鈥淭hese are small stories,鈥� Sauther said. 鈥淭hey're not the big stories of conservation, but they really do matter, especially as we have no good data on bushbaby mortality and thus cannot easily judge their conservation status.鈥�

They鈥檙e also small stories that likely touch almost all non-human primate species, not just in South Africa but across the continent.

鈥淲e found that all South African non-human primates are in one way or the other impacted by human linear infrastructure, such as power lines or roads,鈥� Linden said.听

Roadkill on the rise

Linden, a primatologist from South Africa, first became interested in the hidden dangers facing primates on her daily drives to the University of Venda in South Africa鈥檚 Soutpansberg Mountains.

She kept seeing Samango monkeys (Cercopithecus albogularis) run over on the side of the road. These monkeys are listed in the 听as 鈥渧ulnerable,鈥� one step up from 鈥渆ndangered.鈥�

鈥淚t's one stretch where the road is quite close to indigenous forest, which is where Samango monkeys typically live,鈥� Linden said.

She wondered if a lot more non-human primates could be dying as roadkill than researchers suspected. South Africa is home to more than 675,000 miles (1,090,000 kilometers) of roads and power lines鈥攁nd the number听keeps climbing.

To explore this pervasive threat, Linden and her colleagues drew from a wide range of data sources. They include , a citizen science app released by the EWT that allows anyone in South Africa to upload reports of roadkill. In all, the team gathered 483 examples of primates killed on roads or around power lines, some dating back to the late 1990s. Species included the two bushbabies, Samango monkeys, chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) and vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus).

Next up, Frank Cuozzo of the Lajuma Research Centre and a research fellow at the University of Pretoria鈥檚 Mammal Research Institute led the group in exploring a different kind of peril: domestic dogs. The researchers tracked down 13 reports of greater bushbabies like Bruiser killed by dogs in South Africa since 2014. In one case, humans intentionally released dogs to hunt down a bushbaby that had gotten too close to town.

鈥淭hese reports are clearly a sliver of what鈥檚 actually happening,鈥� said Cuozzo who earned his doctorate in biological anthropology from CU 麻豆影院 in 2000. 鈥淚t鈥檚 happening in the towns and suburban areas, in the rural areas, the reserve areas, and it鈥檚 happening far more than anyone would think.鈥�

Why did the monkey cross the road?

The researchers aren鈥檛 sure how big of a dent roads, power lines and domestic dogs are making in non-human primate numbers in South Africa or surrounding nations. But they argue that these deaths are important to follow鈥攅specially for animals already struggling to survive amid climate change and habitat loss.

Wendy Collinson-Jonker, a co-author of the study on infrastructure and听a researcher at the EWT, noted these problems are widespread, but the fixes may be surprisingly simple.

, for example, that monkeys and other forest critters can hop across roads safely on 鈥渃anopy bridges,鈥� such as a rope bridge hanging between trees.

Humans can also keep dogs away from primates by being careful to not leave food out, especially at night.听

鈥淲e know the solutions,鈥� Collinson-Jonker said. 鈥淚t's a case of now getting them implemented.鈥�

As for Bruiser the bushbaby, Sauther noted his story ended with a small bit of consolation. The team听recovered his body and collected X-rays that helped reveal a deeper picture of his more than a decade of life鈥攄own to the arthritis building up between his joints that likely led him to climb down to the ground.

鈥淲e were able to document his whole life story,鈥� Sauther said. 鈥淲e knew him right to the end.鈥�