Save The Primates
Creating Awareness & Support for Endangered Primates
Save The Primates is an Australian non-profit association dedicated to raising funds for projects and campaigns focussed on primate conservation and primate protection within a select group of primate sanctuaries around the world whilst also raising awareness of the plight of endangered
primate species such as apes, gorillas, chimps, many of which are close to extinction, and
helps raise funds for specific projects and campaigns
dedicated to primate conservation and primate
protection within a select group of primate sanctuaries
around the world.
We focus specifically on raising funds for primate
sanctuary projects that the wildlife sanctuaries themselves have no way of funding. Although able to meet the day to day expenses, projects such as new primate enclosures, education centres and programs and sometimes even animal rescues are all but a dream for those that run the sanctuaries. Read our Mission Statement below.
Our Projects
Whilst we offer plenty of other primate information on this site, we ask that you read about the projects we are currently supporting:
and help by making
a donation. 100% of funds
raised go directly back to the project, as all costs
are met by Save The Primates.
Primates 101
 Also on this page, read an intro to several primate issues:
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CRPL PROJECT:
One of the most confronting realities for wildlife in captivity is their inability to be able to exhibit natural behaviour, usually because of small enclosures. This results in profound boredom and sometimes aggression. Unfortunately this is due to a lack of funding to build appropriate facilities. Save The Primates is committed to helping improve the living standards of the chimpanzees at CRPL by raising funds to build large outdoor natural bush enclosures. But it cannot be achieved without a lot of help.
CHIMFUNSHI PROJECT:
Chimp Bachelor's Home
Think about how it would feel to be locked in your bedroom for over 5 years, but without carpet or a bed. This is the existence of a group of chimpanzees at Chimfunshi Wildllife Sanctuary.
The list of 'To Do's' at Chimfunshi far outweighs the sanctuary's financial ability so Save The Primates is raising money to build a new outdoor enclosure to give them the freedom they deserve.
Thanks to all the wonderful support and donations we have received so far the boys new enclosure is underway.
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The Plight of the Primates - At Risk of Extinction
Primates are being driven to extinction through poaching, murder, exploitation and deforestation!
At the start of the 20th century there was thought to be between
1-2 million chimpanzees. In 1960 there was thought to be close
to 1 million. Today there is thought to be only around
150,000 chimpanzees remaining!
No thought has been given to the rights of
these animals, or toward their natural habitat, and no compassion
for the suffering caused by human activities.
A Dedication Poem:
Read Jerome, a poem from the perspective of a chimp held in cruel captivity till death.
- Chimpanzees are
now extinct in five of the 25 countries they once inhabited.
- The crowned monkey in Equatorial
Guinea is
being hunted at 28 times the sustainable rate.
- A 12-month study in Brazzaville counted
15,000 animal carcasses at bushmeat markets of which 293
were chimpanzees.
- Estimates suggest that several
thousand apes
are killed every year across West and central Africa.
Endangered Primate Species
Human encroachment in all areas of the globe throughout
the 19th & 20th century (and now into the 21st century)
through urban development, slashing and burning of forests,
and commercial trade has caused many primates to become
extinct and many more are at risk of extinction. In
some cases, there are only a handful left of certain primate
species. Visit our Top
25 Most Endangered Primates List to find out which primates
are considered critically endangered.
In the words of Shelia Siddle from Chimfunshi Chimpanzee Sanctuary…….
"As humans continue
to encroach on the habitat and hunt our closest relatives,
a sad reality becomes apparent in the not too distant
future -
many primate species will be extinct in the
wild.
Their only chance of survival will be the sanctuaries
that struggle to provide
for the ever increasing numbers of orphaned and abused
primates."
Learn about the habitat, behaviour, life cycle and endangered
classification of several primate species - specifically
the Baboon, the Bonobo,
the Chimpanzee, the Drill, the Gorilla,
the Guenon, the Mandrill,
the Mangabey and the Vervet.
Primate Issues - Did You Know....?
Learn all you can about the issues faced by
primate species and other wildlife in the 21st century -
loss of habitat; many facing imminent exctinction; lack
of respect for animal rights; murder and kidnipping from
the bushmeat trade;
cruelty from the wildlife
trade and animal
experimentation, to name a few. Through your new-found
awareness, we encourage you to discover some ways in which
you might be inspired or moved into action to help these
wildlife live in dignity, or even live at all!. You
can start by sending this page
to your friend/s. Please read our articles below
to learn more about the main primate issues.
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 Bushmeat
Trade
Unsustainable commercial & illegal bushmeat trade
is threatening extinction of apes, chimpanzees and other
primates. Killed for food & body parts, or sold on
the exotic pet market, they are also losing their habitat
through logging and commercial development. Many primates
are now extinct and more are under threat of extinction
within the next 15 to 20 years. READ
MORE ...
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 Wildlife
Trade
Each year millions of animals, including primates, die
as a result of the wildlife trade. A WCS report estimates
the global industry is worth $6 billion per year. This
figure is second only to drugs as a world wide black-market,
according to Interpol. READ
MORE...
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 Scientific
Animal Experimentation On Primates
We deplore the use and breeding of primates for scientific
research. Annually, over 115,000,000 animals globally
(20,000 in the USA alone) primates, are subjected to animal
experiments in the name of "medical research".
Studies confirm that nearly 2/3 of these experiments have
absolutely nothing to do with advancing human medicine
or curing human diseases. READ
MORE...
The Effect of Modernization & Human Greed On Primates
Unfortunately, the society we live in today is too often
motivated by greed and accumulation of material possessions.
There is a constant push by governments for ever increasing
population growth to drive economies, despite the fact that
animal and primate habitats are being decimated and many
areas of the world, including Australia, are struggling
to provide enough water for the existing population. What
sort of future are we leaving our children?
It is so sad that in the short time industrialised humans
have inhabited the modern world without regard for animal
welfare or for the environment, the destruction we have
inflicted on it is almost irrepairable.
Lack of Public
Awareness on the Plight of Primates
Our news stories do not tell enough of the difficulties
being faced by the world’s animal population.
With such a lack of awareness in the general community about
the plight of the primates and their habitats, each day more
animals face extinction.
View list of PASA primate sanctuaries.
Find out what their issues and needs are, and how you can
be of service.
Save The Primates has
now decided that it is time to give a little back
to the innocent primates subjected to human greed and cruelty.
By visiting this site, we
assume that you too are interested in primates.
By making a simple donation, you
will assist Save The Primates
work on behalf of endangered and suffering primates.
Thank you and enjoy your visit.
Sara Tilling and Gary Henderson
Save The Primates, Australia
Our Mission
Save The Primates mission is to create awareness of the
impending extinction in the wild of many primate species
and to contribute to an improved quality of life for those
who have been displaced by human behaviour.
Who are we?
We are simply two people who want to try and help the primates in
this world. Our inspiration for Save The Primates, a non-profit organisation
based in Australia, came from a visit to Chimfunshi chimpanzee sanctuary
in Zambia run by Sylvia and Sheila Siddle.
This sanctuary, started by Sheila in 1983, consists of over 100 hectares of
free-ranging chimpanzee enclosures, and is home to 115 chimpanzees.
The dedication and selflessness of Sylvia and Sheila Siddle is
something that will never be forgotten.
A human
being is part of the whole,
called by us "Universe," a part limited in time
and space.
He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings
as something separated from the rest
- a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.
This delusion is a kind of prison for us,
restricting us to our personal desires and
to affection for a few persons nearest to us.
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison
by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living
creatures
and the whole of nature in its beauty.
~ Albert Einstein, 1950 ~
How You Can Help Now - This will only take a minute...
Aside from donating to
Save The Primates, there are things you can do right
this minute - from your armchair - and it will only take
a minute of your time. Sign the petitions below to
help other organisations protect and support chimpanzees,
gorillas, bonobos and other primates from animal experiments
and the illegal exotic pet trade.
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