Experts have warned that tourist selfies with their Instagram accounts could be dangerous for critically endangered orangutans.
Researchers examining photos on social media found that jungle hikers visiting Indonesia had violated national park regulations, including taking selfies and touching endangered apes.
This exposes orangutans, such as Covid, to human viruses which could lead to deadly infections.
On Monday, a research paper was published that identified “substantial potential to disease transmission” between humans and orangutans at Mount Leuser National Park.
A team of experts found tourists are risking the lives of critically endangered orangutans for Instagram selfies
The Jungle Trekkers were caught violating the 10 Meter Rule to take selfies with endangered apes.
Andrea Molyneaux is a North Sumatra conservation biologist who was the main author of the paper. She said that the risk of transmitting zoonotic illness between humans and orangutans poses a grave concern.
“There are rules for national parks that warn visitors about the dangers, but our findings indicate that many tourists don’t know these. It appears that there is apathy among the conservation community in order to raise awareness of these rules.
“We must raise public awareness so that people don’t feed or get near orangutans.”
Orangutans can only be found on Sumatra, Borneo and Borneo islands. All three are listed as critical endangered.
The team of experts, which included researchers from Oxford Brookes University, also highlighted poor compliance with rules at Gunung Leuser National Park in North Sumatra, Indonesia.
Emma Hankinson, Ecologist and PhD student at Oxford Brookes, said: ‘In the photos we analysed we saw tourists touching, patting, cuddling, feeding and getting very close to orangutans for selfies.
“I am Sumatra’s resident and I have seen such behavior first hand. The possibility of disease transmission exists between humans and orangutans.
‘The Covid-19 pandemic has increased people’s awareness of disease risk and we hope this may have positive impacts on the behaviour of visitors to the Gunung Leuser National Park and other great ape tourism sites, making them more likely to comply with the rules.’
Members of the gorilla troop at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, pictured, tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2coronavirus which causes the Covid-19 disease, in January
The three gorillas in the lowlands were positive for Covid during a January test at San Diego Zoo.
The Covid jab was also administered to four orangutans as well as give bonobos who were both at the same zoo.