Habitat loss, it's one of the main antagonists for species extinction, among a wide range of other external factors. There are hundreds to thousands of countries that experience species threatening or extinction, habitat loss, and other consequences of climate change. Declared fully extinct in Bangladesh in 2022, the long-tailed macaque populated southern Bangladesh for centuries. Then in 1981 their numbers hit 253, with a plummet to only five in 2012. This aggressive trend has been declared prominent from the clearing of mangroves for shrimp farms, farmland, refugee camps, and settlements. The removal of mangroves has been seen across many Asian countries, leading to coastal erosion, habitat loss, village displacement, and other altering outcomes. There is no surprise that now this practice has contributed to the extinction of species.
Mangrove forests covering the southern district of Cox’s Bazar once inhabited the northern-most area of the species’ range in Asia. A survey conducted from July 2010 to January of 2011 by Professor of Zoology at Chittagong University, M. Farid Ahsan found only one group of macaques consisting of two adult males and one adult female, residing along the coast near Teknaf Port. After this survey, the long-tailed macaque was no longer found along the coast or anywhere else across Bangladesh. Ahsan and other experts surely blame the mangrove removal for aquaculture and other infrastructure. The study showed that this species preferred crab as their food source, so they usually reside among the coastal mangrove forests. But farmers and buyers would frequent the areas during low tide, leading to high habitat disruption and feeding routines. Residents would also allow their livestock to graze on the mud flats, along with the construction of refugee camps interfering with the environment’s stability.
The long-tail macaques were widely distributed across Asia, from Myanmar to the west of the Philippines. While the species is now extinct in Bangladesh, their populations across other Asian countries are also starting to dwindle; becoming a threatened species due to retaliatory killings, and entrapment for lab testing. According to the IUCN, the population of the long-tail macaque has declined by 40% over the past 40 years, and is estimated to decline by 50% over the next 40 years. The 2022 assessment predicts that the species could next become extinct in Laos.
