An extremely biodiverse region, Kibale National Park in Uganda is a 300 square mile protected area that includes savannahs, woodlands and forest and hundreds of different species of animals, including over a dozen different species of primates. But over the last few years something very alarming has been happening to the primate population.
Chimpanzees, baboons and several kinds of monkeys have experienced a shocking increase in birth defects. There are cleft lips, concave faces, noses with tiny nostrils or no nostrils or extra nostrils. There are missing fingers and there has been a sharp rise in female reproductive maladies. Scientists are scrambling to figure out what is causing this.
Currently, the leading suspect is pesticides. While the land surrounding the national park has been farmed for many years it is only in recent years that pesticide use has dramatically increased. Foods that the primates eat have been tested and significant residues of both DDT and Chlorpyrifos have been found. Chlorpyrifos (manufactured by DOW Chemical) is a very controversial insecticide and there have been efforts to have it banned. The EPA was on the verge of banning it when President Trump's new EPA administrator Scott Pruitt denied the ban.
Since humans react to these dangerous insecticides similarly to the way other primates do, there is great concern among scientists to solve the dilemma in Uganda.
Find out more about what is being done here