Deforestation
is probably the biggest threat, the most severe example being
Madagascar, the home of the lemur. It is also taking place at
a rapid rate in Southeast Asia, threatening the gibbon and the
orangutan. In Brazil, the destruction of the Atlantic Rain forest
has made the golden lion Tamara one of the most endangered species
in the world.
Primates are also threatened by collection for the pet trade
and by hunting. Illegal hunting is the chief threat facing the
mountain gorilla, a rare African subspecies that lives in the
politically volatile border region straddling Uganda, Rwanda,
and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.