Coquerel’s Sifaka (Propithecus coquereli)
September 1 is World Primate Day, a designation intended to raise awareness about apes, monkeys, and prosimians like lemurs, lorises, and tarsiers. Many non-human primates are threatened by habitat loss, the pet trade, and hunting.
There are more than 440 species of primate worldwide, the majority of which live in the tropics.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies more than a third of primate species as critically endangered or vulnerable.
The following pictures show primates in a variety of sites around the world, including individuals in rescue centers, semi-wild habitats within protected areas, and the wild. All photos taken by Rhett A. Butler.
Eastern Tarsiers (Tarsius tarsier)
Crested black macaque
Baby gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) in Gabon
Sykes’s Monkey, Cercopithecus albogularis
Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata)
Ebony langur (Trachypithecus auratus)
Female Common Brown Lemur (Eulemur fulvus)
Female Crowned lemur (Eulemur coronatus)
Female Long-haired Spider Monkey (Ateles belzebuth)
Male Sumatran Orangutan in Sumatra
Black Colobus monkey (Colobus angolensis)
Verreaux’s Sifaka dancing
Mongoose Lemur (Eulemur mongoz)
Red howler monkey howling
Red Leaf Monkey (Presbytis rubicunda)
Male Mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx)
Emperor Tamarin (Saguinus imperator)
Common woolly monkey (Lagothrix lagotricha)
Lion-tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus)
Ring-tailed lemur with baby
Gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus)
Male howler monkey
Common Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri sciureus albigena)
Slow loris
Indri lemur (Indri indri)