Primates around the world are used in a variety of ways for the entertainment of tourists. Some are made to perform tricks for large paying audiences, others owned by people who use them to beg for money from tourists in return for using the animal as a photographic prop.
They were declared extinct in India 60 years ago, but may be back in the country as early as next year.
The beauty of the natural world is truly something magnificent to behold and a heritage that we seem to be struggling to conserve.
However, tourists pose a risk to the gorillas in the form of disease transmission. Mountain gorillas, who share 98.5% of our DNA, are extremely vulnerable to human disease, especially respiratory infections.
It amazed me how little mention there was of the impact population growth has on the species we share the planet with.
They have all the hallmarks of an iconic predator; yet, wild dogs are a struggling species in Africa.
It isn’t surprising then that the estimated orangutan population is now 8% of what it was 100 years ago.
The Amazon river dolphin, also known as the pink dolphin, is the largest of the river dolphins. For over a decade their carcasses have been appearing on riverbanks recently in record numbers.
Little is known about the whales because they usually live in deep waters, where they feed from the sea floor, so sightings are rare.
Not only are the plants that feed them being removed for the development of plantations, but the forests are also being fragmented.