Born Free Foundation - Keep Wildlife in the Wild

The announcement by the IUCN (World Conservation Union) on 18th February of the World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates provides a useful benchmark for conservationists and organisations focussing on this class of animals.

For Born Free it might seem less critical, known as we are for our work with lions, elephants, wolves and many other species, as well as chimpanzees and gorillas. But a quick scan through the list shows that over the last five years we have supported projects to protect seven of these species – over a quarter of the whole list.

David Jay, Senior Programmes Officer, explains, “As well as setting up an adoption programme for the Greater Bamboo Lemur, and funding research into resolving crop raiding by the Sumatran Orangutan, we have also provided many small grants through our partnership with the Primate Society of Great Britain and their Conservation Working Party.” Contributions through this grant making programme have ranged from local awareness raising around Cross River Gorilla habitat to training for customs officers in identifying species such as the Javan Slow Loris. We have also assisted important ecological studies on the Delacour Langur and the Western Hoolock Gibbon, and groundwork for the establishment of a community reserve for the Yellow Tailed Woolly Monkey.The loss of these species would be a tragedy for the natural world and a disgrace for humanity. By making modest but targeted grants, Born Free is able to complement its large scale work with figurehead animals and also make a difference for the less well known ones facing imminent extinction. We believe that this balance of depth and breadth makes the best use of the funds we work so hard to raise, and which the public and our sponsors entrust us with. So let us hope that, with all our help, we will continue to see these wonderful animals living in the wild for many years to come.