Hi all-- I'm a primatologist and although I personally have a list, I think the reason it is harder for folks to think in terms of lists on primates is easy: there are no wild primates in the US or Europe where the bulk of the bird twitchers live.
It costs money, sometimes lots of it to go see a wild primate. Birds are easy and at our backyard feeders. Laura PS And oh how I wish monkeys came to our feeders instead! :) At 6:36 PM -0300 8/13/07, James J. Roper wrote: >Judith, > >I certainly did not mean to suggest that birders are not interested in the >objects of their attention, but they do so with a different sense of how to >go about it. Just ask a birder for some information about the behavior or >biology of birds they have seen, and be prepared to have a beer or two while >they tell their stories. > >I would venture to say that ALL people who are animal watchers (and even >plant watchers) are interested in the animals they watch. Birds just have >so many options tha they must divide their time among the many species, >while primatologists often have fewer species and so devote more time to >each. > >Jim > >On 8/13/07, Judith S. Weis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> >> One would hope that primate watchers (or watchers of anything else) would >> become a bit more interested in the behaviors, life history etc. of the >> creatures they watch than many birders who couldn't care less about the >> biology of the birds they see, but just want to check them off their list. >> Does anybody know a way to get these people interested in the life >> history, behavior etc. of the birds and their conservation rather than >> just adding names to their lists? >> >> >> >> >> > There are currently estimated to be 625 species and subspecies of >> > primates,= >> > and 26% of those are in immediate danger of extinction (Critically >> > Endange= >> > red or Endangered). That may seem like only a few primates to some >> > people,= >> > but to those of us who work in primate conservation, it is 160 taxa too >> > ma= >> > ny.=0A=0AAsia actually leads the world in endangered primates with 55 >> taxa >> > = >> > (some down to a handful of individuals), Neotropics with 34, Africa with >> > 33= >> > , and Madagascar with 28. The Primate Specialist Group of the IUCN's >> > Speci= >> > es Survival Commission, Conservation International, and the >> International >> > P= >> > rimatological Society put out a list of the Top 25 Most Endangered >> > Primates= >> > every 2 years (the list created during the 2006 IPS meetings should be >> > rel= >> > eased soon). As is said every other year when that list is debated, the >> > li= >> > st could easily be 50 or 100 species long. Check out the Red List or >> the >> > 2= >> > 004 list of the top 25 most endangered primates >> > (http://web.conservation.or= >> > g/xp/news/press_releases/2005/040705.xml). =0A=0AJulie Wieczkowski, >> > admit= >> > tedly someone who studies one of the 43 endangered primates in Africa=0A >> = >> > =0A----- Original Message ----=0AFrom: William Silvert >> > <[EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >>=0ATo: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Monday, August 13, 2007 6:40:18 >> >> A= >> > M=0ASubject: Re: primate watching=0A=0A=0AThis is an interesting idea, >> but >> > = >> > the analogy to bird-watching is weak. There =0Aare only a few primates >> > that= >> > are serously endangered, mostly the great apes, =0Aand I think that >> > anyone= >> > motivated by life lists would simply head for =0AMadagascar and count >> > lemu= >> > rs. I suspect that getting a lot of spotters into =0Athe field would >> have >> > a= >> > negative impact on the species being spotted.=0A=0AIt is worth keeping >> in >> > = >> > mind that one of the most successful measures in bird =0Aconservation is >> > th= >> > e habitat preservation by Ducks Unlimited, whose motive is =0Ato shoot >> > duck= >> > s!=0A=0ABill Silvert=0A=0A=0A----- Original Message ----- =0AFrom: >> "WENDEE >> > = >> > HOLTCAMP" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>=0ATo: >> > <[email protected]>=0ASent:= > > > Sunday, August 12, 2007 7:19 PM=0ASubject: primate watching=0A=0A=0A>I >> > rea= >> > d something recently where someone was pondering whether we could=0A> >> > creat= >> > e a system of primate watching, similar to birdwatching, as a way to=0A> >> > ch= >> > annel funds into primate conservation. So instead of life lists for =0A> >> > bi= >> > rds=0A> (or in addition to) they would have life lists for primates. I >> > thou= >> > ght =0A> this=0A> was really interesting and was just going to try to >> > pitch= >> > an article on =0A> it,=0A> but now I can't seem to find it anywhere - I >> > di= >> > dn't find it from a google=0A> search and I can't remember if I saw this >> > in= >> > the news or a scientific=0A> journal TOC, or what. I am pretty sure it >> > was= >> > a primatologist or=0A> biologist/ecologist making the >> statement.=0A>=0A>= >> > =0A>=0A> Does this ring any bells for anyone? If so please contact me >> > offli= >> > st=0A> [EMAIL PROTECTED]>=0A> Wendee=0A>=0A> >> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= >> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~=0A>=0A> Wendee Holtcamp * Freelance Writer >> * >> > = >> > Photographer * Bohemian=0A>=0A> >> > <http://www.wendeeholtcamp.= >> > com/>=0A> http://www.wendeeholtcamp.com=0A> Bohemian Adventures Blog * >> > <ht= >> > tp://bohemianadventures.blogspot.com/>=0A> >> > http://bohemianadventures.blogsp= >> > ot.com=0A>=0A> The Fish Wars: A Christian Evolutionist =0A> >> > <http://thefish= >> > wars.blogspot.com/>=0A> http://thefishwars.blogspot.com=0A> >> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= >> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~=0A> Online Writing Course Starts Sep 15. >> > Si= >> > gn Up Now!=0A>=0A>=0A>=0A>=0A=0AJulie Wieczkowski, Ph.D.=0AAssistant >> > Profes= >> > sor=0ADepartment of Anthropology=0A332 Pafford=0AUniversity of West >> > Georgia= >> > =0ACarrollton, GA 30118=0A678-839-6458 (ph)=0A678-839-6466 >> > (fax)=0Ajuliewhi= >> > [EMAIL PROTECTED]/~jwhiz >> > >> > > > >-- >James J. Roper, Ph.D. >Ecologia e Dinâmicas Populacionais >de Vertebrados Terrestres >------------------------------ > >Caixa Postal 19034 >81531-990 Curitiba, Paraná, Brasil >------------------------------ > >E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Telefone: 55 41 33857249 >Mobile: 55 41 99870543 >------------------------------ > >Ecologia e Conservação na UFPR <http://www.bio.ufpr.br/ecologia/> >Personal Pages <http://jjroper.googlespages.com> -- ************************************************ Laura K. Marsh, Ph.D. Director Global Conservation Institute 156 County Road 113 Santa Fe, NM 87506 USA Main Tel: 505.455.0145 FAX: 505.455.0145 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Bringing Science and Entertainment Together *********************************************** "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." ---Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
