Primatewatching

Of all of the wild animals we share our only home with, humans often feel a profound emotional connection the other primates. Yet more than 60% of species are already endangered, and 75% of them have declining populations. Primate-based ecotourism that provides income to the communities living near to the animals – communities who can play a major role in conserving them – may be the only effective tool at our disposal to ensure the survival of many species.

Russell A. Mittermeier, Chief Conservation Officer, Re:wild; and chair IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group

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Why primates? They are our closest relatives and species like gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans are some of the well-known and well-loved animals.

Gorilla watching is a huge industry and has been operating for over 40 years. In 2006 Mountain gorilla tourism was the number one foreign currency earner in Rwanda. There are over 500 primate species and many are stunning including the Douc Langurs of Vietnam, Proboscis Monkeys on Borneo, the lemurs of Madagascar and the tamarins of South America. Some are easy to see, while others like the Owl-faced Monkey are so rare, shy and secretivethey are unlikely to be seen by anyone other than the most dedicated mammalwatcher. Taxonomists have revealed that primate diversity is much greater than previously thought, with many new species of South American monkeys and lemurs identified in the past 20 years. And the last large African mammal discovery was a primate – the Kipunji monkey – which is endemic to the Southern Highlands of Tanzania

So it is little wonder that primates are a natural focus for mammalwatchers. But this is more than a hobby. A major reason to promote primatewatching is the potential conservation benefits it could bring.

Imagine what it could mean for conservation if primates got even a fraction of the attention birds do. In the USA alone, an estimated US$17 billion is spent each year spent on bird-watching travel to destinations in the USA and abroad. In 2016, nearly 300,000 birdwatchers visited Alaska alone, spending US$378 million and supporting about 4,000 jobs. An estimated 150,000 bird-watchers will visit Colombia from the United States alone over the next decade, generating US$47 million annually and sustaining 7,500 new jobs.

If you are on this website you probably already know how much fun watching primates can be. But it is much more than just entertainment. Primatewatching can stimulate awareness of primates: species which are often flagship animals for the dwindling habitats they live in. This is particularly true in countries like Madagascar, where lemur watching is an important tourism attraction, so helping to maintain the protected area network. This in turn can stimulate economic development in communities surrounding the protected area to create a positive loop, with those communities helping to ensure these species are valued and have a future. One example of a locally-based tourism operation is the Community Guides Network in Analamazoatra Community Reserve next to Andasibe NP in Madagascar. Over 30 local guides are employed to take visitors to see the Indri.

We need to go and see these creatures in their natural environments, spend time with the communities upon whose survival they ultimately depend, share our excitement and enthusiasm, and, ultimately, contribute to the local economy.

Resources

Primatewatching Guidelines

Primatewatching – Field guides help when you encounter a primate in the field. Travel guides help you get around. But neither help you know where best to go to find a particular primate. This site fills that gap …
https://www.rewild.org/get-to-know/primates

Current primate taxonomy

Primates in Peril – outlining the 25 primate species in most need of urgent conservation intervention.

Primate Conservation – Follow Russell Mittermeier on Twitter @PrimateWatcher

Primatewatching rankings

Please register or log in to submit your list to join the competition. All mammal lists

#

Name

No. of species

List

Latest observations

1

Jon
Hall

305

View

Latest additions include Robinson's Banded Langur in Thailand, Yunnan Snub-nosed Monkey in China and Bale Monkey in Ethiopia, all the Bolivian endemic Titis plus White-lipped Tamarin in Bolivia. Highlights include all the Lion Tamarins and all the Douc Langurs.

2

Cheryl
Antonucci

297

View

Highlights from 2024 seeing all the howler monkey species in the wild

3

Martin
Royle

245

View

White-thighed Colobus & Green Monkey in Ghana latest sightings

4

Jonathan
Newman

198

View

Brazil June and Dec 24

5

Alex
Schouten

179

View

Highlights: Kipunji, Drill, all 9 species of Sifaka, all 3 species of Douc Langurs, Cat Ba Langur, Southern Muriqui, Pennant's Red Colobus. Latest trip: Cruise on the Amazon by Wildwings in May 2024 with 31 primate species seen in just 12 days (not all species seen were lifers).

6

Stuart
Chapman

166

View

2025 highlights: Siberut langur, Pig-tailed langur; 2024: Monk Saki, Javan gibbon, Aye-aye, Sumatran orangutan; Previous highlights: endangered Asian primates including Lao langur, Cat Ba langur, all three species of Douc langur and Arunachal macaque.

7

Alex
Meyer

161

View

2024: Mandrill, Western Gorilla, Black Colobus and Gabon Squirrel Galago from Gabon // 2023: 73 Species of Lemur over 5 weeks in Madagascar // 2022: Silvery Javan Gibbon, Javan Slow Loris, West & East Javan Langurs // Previous Years: Kenya Coast Galago, Buffy-headed Marmoset, Golden-mantled Saddleback Tamarin, Black-faced Lion Tamarin, Panamanian Night Monkey, Coastal Black-handed Titi, Napo Saki, Northern Muriqui, Tana River Mangabey, Bale Monkey, Semliki Red Colobus, Eastern Gorilla, Chimpanzee, and Human at birth (only way to truly see wild Humans)

8

Romain
Bocquier

152

View

Blond Capucin, Coimbra titi... Brazil

9

Charley
Hesse

131

View

Latest trip to S India with Lion-tailed Macaque & Nilgiri Langur

10

Tomer

122

View

I've actually had lots of highlights - I love my primates. The most recent one was the beautiful Golden Snub-nosed Monkey from Sichuan

11

George
Vincent

120

View

Latest highlights include Golden-backed Uakari, Miller's Saki, Medem's Titi, Ornate Titi and Guianan Bearded Saki

12

Mark
Tasker

118

View

All records visible on iGoTerra

13

Cathy
Pasterczyk

113

View

Most recent is Marañón White-fronted Capuchin Cebus yuracus

14

Philip
Precey

96

View

96 species as of May 2023: most recent additions Gelada, Hamadryas and Bale Monkey in 2020

15

Andreas
Jonsson

92

View

Latest addition: March 2025 - Horsfield´s tarsier from Sabah, Borneo.

16

Samuel
Marlin

90

View

Highlights are: Mountain gorillas and chimpanzee in Uganda; all the sifakas (6 seen out of 9 species) in Madagascar

17

Jonas
Livet

86

View

Update 07/2024: 86 primate species seen in the wild, total 242 primate species seen including ones in captive settings

18

Ben
Chapple

78

View

Highlights: Eastern Gorilla,

19

Becky
Royle

77

View

Ornate titi, Black-and-white ruffed lemur, Indri, aye-aye, Proboscis monkey, Borneo orangutan

20

Terry
Reis

72

View

My recent new species was Spectacled Galago in Uganda. A predictable highlight was Eastern Gorilla. I haven't added either Thomas's or Demidoff's Dwarf Galago to my list as I'm concerned about identification. If anyone has information beyond size and movement I'd be most interested to hear it.

21

John
Rogers

68

View

Goeldi's Monkey, Olalla's Titi, Cross-marked Langur, Abbott's Gray Gibbon, Javan Slow Loris

22

Brett
Taylor

56

View

It's actually been a while since this list was added to. Vietnam primates are a definite highlight. I really just wanted to be in the top 10 of the primate lists and reside with the other esteemed mammal watchers here while I could. Shameless I know. Cheers.

23

Martin
Walsh

40

View

Recent additions: Nilgiri Langur, Lion-Tailed Macaque. Previous highlights: Vietnam's Doucs, Bornean Orangutan, Gelada, Gurskey's Spectral Tarsier, Gorontalo Macaque, Celebes Crested Macaque.

24

Michael
Johnson

36

View

More than half the mammals on my list come from my trip to Uganda in Feb 23, during which I saw 21 primate species.

25

Martin
Fichtler

24

View

Latest: Barbary Macaque, June 2022, Morocco and Thick-tailed Greater Galago, Aug. 2022, South Africa. Highlight: Drill in Cameroon.

26

Kyle
Smith

22

View

Latest additions were Black-and-gold Howler Monkey (Alouatta caraya), Black-capped Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri boliviensis), Brown Capuchin (Sapajus apella), and Bolivian Red Howler Monkey (Alouatta sara) in July 2019 in Bolivia

27

Jacob
Zinn

21

View

Highlights: Spider, howler and squirrel monkeys in June 2022, Barbary macaques in March 2023, black and white colobus, tantalus monkeys, olive baboons, red-tailed monkey, De Brazza's monkey and mountain gorillas in June 2023, 11 lemurs including a hibernating dwarf lemur and lots of time following Milne-Edwards' Sifakas in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar, June-August 2024

28

Warren
Gilson

16

View

October 2024 : Chacma Baboons and Vervet Monkeys (Kruger NP)

29

Moses
Swanson-Mwamasika

15

View

Latest observations: Sanje mangabey, Udzungwa red colobus, Angola black-and-white colobus, yellow baboon.

30

Waskito
Wibowo

13

View

Javan Slow Loris in Central Java, Indonesia (17 September 2023)

31

William
Lewis

9

View

Latest - 6 species in East Africa, July 2024. Highlights include Red-tailed Monkey, Thick-tailed Greater Galago, and Central American Spider Monkey

32

Diedert
Koppenol

5

View

Central American Spider Monkey

33

Tiger
Royle

5

View

Vervet monkey, Olive baboon, Zanzibar red colobus

34

Jesse
Golden

4

View

Southern Pig-tailed Macaque (20 Oct 2019)

35

Bruno
Kovacs Gomez

1

View

Only Barbary Macaque, in 2019 in Gibraltar and in 2023 in Morocco.

See also

Madagascar

The enormously rich diversity of primates makes Madagascar one of the planet’s four major primate regions.

More
Central & South America

Central and South America – or the Neotropics – are home to well over 200 species and subspecies of primates.

More