Primate reintroduction is a form of species reintroduction and is the process by which captive or previously free-ranging primates are either translocated or rehabilitated and released into the wild. The goals of primate reintroduction efforts are typically to reestablish or reinforce wild populations, improve the welfare of reintroduced individuals, and/or restore ecosystems (i.e. seed distribution). Primate reintroduction is associated with primate rehabilitation which is a form of wildlife rehabilitation that provides care and treatment for individual primates that have been injured, orphaned or abandoned in preparation for reintroduction back into the wild. Rehabilitation and reintroduction together are a strategy to combat the widespread decline of primate biodiversity worldwide and keep primate species and their habitats safe from extinction. The rehabilitated primates are most frequently formerly captive monkeys confiscated or rescued from the illegal pet and bushmeat trades.
Causes for primate biodiversity decline It is commonly accepted by scientists that we are living through the sixth mass extinction (Holocene extinction) with species decline occurring at the highest rate since the last mass extinction, primarily due to anthropogenic forces. As of 2017 approximately 60% of all primate species are considered threatened and over 75% of populations are in decline.
Climate change Primate habitat is increasingly threatened by the wide ranging impacts of climate change, with significant land cover change and catastrophic weather events causing habitat loss, fragmentation and impacting food supply. It is predicted that primate habitats will experience climate warming that is 10% higher than the global mean and will be increasingly vulnerable to significant precipitation shifts and extreme weather events. Further predictions show that over the coming decades climate change will impact primate species both directly as temperature increases and indirectly through the effects on other drivers of endangerment and extinction (i.e. habitat fragmentation, loss of symbiotic species, spread of infectious diseases, etc.).
Habitat fragmentation and degradation Like many species, primates are particularly sensitive to changes in their habitat, the degradation, fragmentation and loss of which can have devastating consequences on population and species decline. The forests inhabited by primates are being threatened by intensive agriculture, cattle ranching, logging, gas drilling, road construction and mining worldwide. Over the course of 20 years, from 1990 to 2010 there was over two million km2 of forest loss throughout verified primate habitat and agriculture expanded by over 1.5 million km2 throughout primate ranges.
Disease Monkeys and apes often have and share diseases with humans, causing increasing concern as the boundaries between humans and wildlife are lowered. Global disease outbreaks such as swine flu and ebola caused devastation in primate and human communities alike, which are exacerbated by the environmental changes increasing the proximity between humans and wildlife. Habitat fragmentation, especially for agriculture, also increases the risk of disease transmission between the released primates, humans and their livestock.
Causes for orphaned and/or abandoned captive primates
Trafficking and trade There are both legal and illegal routes in the primate trade, for a range of uses such as consumption, pets, zoos and entertainment, biomedical research, traditional medicine and as prized objects in folklore. The documented trafficking of primates impacts hundreds of thousands of individuals annually and is incredibly lucrative for the people involved in the trade, with the undocumented illegal trade estimated to impact an even greater number of individuals. The trade of primates is both legal and organized, as well as illegal and opportunistic, much of which is influenced by the local politics of the areas from which the primates are being removed from the wild.
Hunting Both commercial hunting and subsistence bushmeat hunting contribute to the decline of primate populations and to the growing issue of injured and orphaned individual primates. The bushmeat trade provides both food for people living locally within primate habitat and is also transported globally as part of an illegal international market.
Rehabilitation and reintroduction
IUCN Guidelines for Primate Reintroductions In 2002 the Reintroduction Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) produced their Guidelines for Nonhuman Primate Reintroductions (GNPR), which is considered to be a best practice model for any primate rehabilitation and reintroduction effort.
Welfare considerations Rescue, rehabilitation and reintroduction of formerly captive or wild-born primates provides placement for vulnerable individuals with welfare at the front of mind. In a review on primate reintroductions prior to 2014, it was found that the majority of reintroduction efforts only complied with around 53% of the GNPR, one of the greatest failures being a significant absence of the recommended post-release monitoring. As the guidelines establish best practices to prioritize and monitor individual welfare, any deviation from the guidelines may have negative consequences on welfare.
Conservation considerations Primate reintroductions can be particularly effective for conservation efforts when employed in areas where primates had previously been extirpated. Primates are often considered to be important seed dispersers in their native ecosystems, critical for the regeneration of flowering plants. For example, studies show that in the Taï region in western Côte-d'Ivoire, monkeys are responsible for dispersing the seeds of 52 species of trees, only 12 of which are dispersed by animals other than monkeys. In addition, primate reintroductions can serve as an excellent public and political tool to educate and raise awareness for the plight of primates and their ecosystems.
Aspects of the rehabilitation phase
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