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Article: Death in the family tree. (global decline of primates)(Cover Story)
- Article from:
- World Watch
- Article date:
- September 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Worldwatch Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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As the human population continues its unprecedented expansion, the populations of more than half of the world's other primates continue their unprecedented decline. Will our demographic explosion amount to a death sentence for our closest relatives?
The little apes would hardly have dominated the patchwork of forest and savanna in which they lived. Two million years ago, east Africa was home not just to lions and leopards, but to saber-toothed cats, giant baboons, and wild pigs as big as buffalo. The apes must have invested a good deal of effort in just trying to stay out of the way. But if we could have watched them foraging in small bands, feeding on fruits and ...