ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author addresses the remaining dimension of the promise of contemporary primatology: actively engaging in the conservation of primates, and using an integrative approach that draws from the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities to do so. The author explores what primatologists can learn from scholars from the natural sciences and the social sciences and humanities on how to move toward preventing the irreparable loss of our closest living relatives (and primatologists’ study subjects). As anthropogenic activities continue to alter the environments in which primates live, understanding how they are able to behaviorally respond to these impacts is a critical component for designing conservation management efforts. At the same time, conservation is not just about forests, trees, or primates; it is also about people. Primatologists can therefore draw from broader social science and environmental humanities scholarship on the practice of conservation.
