Selfies With Gorillas Could Increase Risks of Disease Transmission

Study shows that taking selfies with gorillas without following precautions could be spreading the virus to the gorillas.

Research shows that tourists could be spreading the COVID-19 virus in wild mountain gorillas by taking selfies with them without following precautions.

The research team examined around 1,000 Instagram posts. They found that since most gorilla trekking tourists were close to the animals without wearing face masks, the transmission of viruses and diseases to the gorillas was possible.

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Lead author Gaspard Van Hamme said, "The risk of disease transmission between visitors and gorillas is very concerning. It is vital that we strengthen and enforce tour regulations to ensure gorilla trekking practices do not further threaten these already imperiled great apes."

Captive gorillas at San Diego Zoo tested positive for COVID-19 in January 2021, proving that the virus can also affect apes.

Dr. Magdalena Svensson, co-author, states that their analysis showed that tourists visiting gorillas rarely wore face masks, which gives room to the potential for disease transmission between people and the gorillas.

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“With people all over the world getting more used to wearing face masks, we have hope that in the future, wearing face masks will become common practice in gorilla trekking," she adds.

Although the populations of Mountain gorillas in East Africa have suffered negatively from human activities in the past decades, the numbers have started to increase in more recent years. An estimated 1,063 individuals are present now.

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Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka from Conservation Through Public Health, Uganda, said, "This research provides a valuable perspective on how much tourists are willing to share their too-close encounters with mountain gorillas through Instagram, which creates expectations for future tourists. It highlights a great need for responsible tourism to provide adequate protection while minimizing disease transmission, especially now during the COVID-19 pandemic."

Trekking is important financially to support the conservation of mountain gorillas. However, large visitor numbers can impact the wildlife and environment.

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Though guidelines like maintaining a minimum distance of 7 meters between visitors and gorillas have been implemented, the study shows that these guidelines are not adequately followed and enforced.

Russell A. Mittermeier, Chair of the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group (not involved in the study), comments "It has become apparent in the past few years that studies of anthroponotic and zoonotic disease spread are crucial to the field of primate conservation.”

He adds that while this study focused on one species, the lessons learned are also applicable to many other primate species increasingly coming into contact with people.

Source-Medindia