World Atlas of Great Apes and Their Conservation - by Julian Caldecott & Lera Miles (Hardcover)

About the Book

This comprehensive and authoritative review of the distribution and conservation status of Great Apes includes individual country profiles for each species and overview chapters on ape biology, ecology, and conservation challenges.

Book Synopsis

Despite the dedicated efforts of many individuals and organizations, the great apes--our closest living relatives--are on the very edge of extinction. This sweeping atlas provides a comprehensive overview of what is currently known about all six species of great apes--chimpanzee, bonobo, Sumatran orangutan, Bornean orangutan, eastern gorilla, and western lowland gorilla. Created in association with The Great Apes Survival Project (GRASP), this book gives a thorough background on ape behavior and ecology for each species, including detailed habitat requirements, the apes' ecological role, and the possible consequences of their decline. World Atlas of Great Apes also offers a full description of the threats, current conservation efforts, and additional protection needed for each species across its entire range. Many full-color maps and illustrations make the abundance of information accessible to a broad readership, from specialists and policymakers to general readers concerned about the survival of these charismatic primates.

This book represents the work of a dynamic alliance of many of the world's leading great ape research and conservation organizations. Bringing together United Nations agencies, governments, foundations, and private-sector interests, the project aims to raise the international profile of great ape conservation and to build the political will for further action. Readers learn about work being done by specific organizations in support of great ape conservation, and where conservation is most needed and most likely to be effective.

*Covers all six species of great apes

* Provides the most up-to-date and comprehensive data available

* More than 150 full-color photos

* More than 50 full-color maps and diagrams

Copub: UNEP-WCMC (Royalties from the sale of this book will support the efforts of the conservation of the Great Apes Survival Project)

From the Back Cover

"Great Apes are self-aware, complex communicators, and skilled exploiters of their environment. Yet the most self-aware, the most complex communicator, the most exploitative of all, is now threatening the others with extinction. This book records what we humans know about our closest living relatives, and lays a basis for how we can preserve them for our posterity and theirs."--Colin P. Groves, author of Primate Taxonomy

"A well researched, up-to-date, clearly presented compendium of information and analysis relevant to conservation of the great apes. This amount and extent of material has never before been brought together."--Alexander H. Harcourt, University of California at Davis

About the Author

Julian Caldecott is an ecologist and primatologist by training, doing his doctoral research on macaques in Malaysian rain forests. He has worked on wildlife management and biodiversity conservation throughout the global tropics, including projects to conserve Bornean and Sumatran orangutans, western and Nigerian chimpanzees, and Cross River gorillas. Lera Miles is a biologist with the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre who analyzes threats to biodiversity ranging from global to local scales. Her specialities include species mapping and modeling, vulnerability assessment, and priority-setting.