Great apes under threat
Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and bonobos are being pushed to the brink of extinction, and all six species of great apes are listed by IUCN as Endangered or Critically Endangered. Threats such as deforestation and disease have been well documented, but the illicit traffic in great apes and great ape body parts has not been recognized as a serious threat to the survival of these species.
The data challenge
As so much of the illegal trade in great apes does not meet the parameters of existing databases, it becomes ever more essential to best serve the protection of these charismatic species, and find a way of quantifying this very real threat to their survival. GRASP, as a shared partnership between many agencies and Member States, serves as the perfect platform and implementer for this task.