Tree-dwelling species of monkeys and lemurs have been found to be spending increasing amounts of time on the forest floor, scientists say.
The concerning new shift, boffins claim, could be because these animals are seeking refuge from rising temperatures, in a response to deforestation and climate change impacting their habitats.
A study, which was based on more than 150,000 hours of observations of 47 tree-dwelling primate species, was conducted by a team of researchers from Oxford Brookes University.
Dr Giuseppe Donati, a member of the study team, says the group went to more than 70 sites in Madagascar and the Americas to show the change in the habitat of these animals is a global trend.
He went on to say that the the tree-dwellers are now being forced down from their homes to the ground, in order to seek shade and water as temperatures in the forest continue to rise.
Speaking to the New Scientist, Donati said: “In most tropical countries where these species live, humans log the forest.
“This creates gaps and it opens the canopy of the forest. That causes an increase in temperature."
He went on to add that deforestation “is working together with climate change” to drive the animals into seeking out new habitats.
The doctor shockingly said that he saw first-hand at how bamboo lemurs in Madagascar, in particular, are now spending around half of their walking hours on the ground. While most lemur species live their lives amongst the trees, in the south of Madagascar where the forest canopy is becoming increasingly thinned-out.
He said: “Those bamboo lemurs usually live in the forest and they are tree-dwelling lemurs.
“But in the south of Madagascar, a very fragmented area, those bamboo lemurs get out of the forest and they graze the grass, a bit like little cows.”
While it is not known for certain what drove our distant ancestors to abandon the trees, the change in habitat is reportedly widely believed to have been driven by climate change. However, while humans adapted, our monkey cousins will struggle to do the same.
This is because these current changes are taking place far more rapidly than the natural fluctuations in the Earth’s climate that have happened in the past.
Timothy Eppley, from the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, says: “None of the species we studied are likely to fully transition to a terrestrial lifestyle. It’s simply not a viable long-term outcome to happen in such a short period of time.”
He says if tree-dwelling monkeys like lemurs are to be saved from the new mass extinction currently decimating the planet's biodiversity, “we need to actively protect the forest habitat that we currently have”.
- An earlier version of this story stated that monkeys were evolving into a new human-like race as a result of moving to the forest floor. This was not correct and bas been amended.
