Monkeys in Japan lost tooth enamel when their forest was destroyed
Japanese macaques on Yakushima Island, where monkeys in the 1980s experienced stress-related dental issues
Hiroya Minakuchi/Minden/naturepl.com
Monkeys on a Japanese island experienced a severe loss of tooth enamel during the 1980s, which researchers believe was caused by the stress of culling programmes and the destruction of their habitat.
The condition would have been extremely painful and made it difficult for the macaques to eat, says Ian Towle at the Spanish National Research Center for Human Evolution in Burgos. “Their teeth will wear down to nothing and it will expose the living part …