"Madagascar’s beloved ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) have all but disappeared from many of the island nation’s forests. According to two worrying new studies, the species’ population has fallen to between 2,000 and 2,400 animals — a shocking 95 percent decrease since the year 2000.

To put that number in context, there are now fewer ring-tailed lemurs living in the wild than there are living in zoos around the world.

Factors driving the decline include rapid habitat loss, hunting, and the illegal pet trade, according to a paper published last month in the journal Primate Conservation and a second paper published today in Folia Primatologica."  -- Scientific American