Gabon, a gorilla and chimpanzee sanctuary, is taking preventive measures to avoid any risk of transmission of the new coronavirus to the great apes that live in its parks, announced Monday the National Agency of National Parks (ANPN) of Gabon. "We have decided to close the tourism activities of viewing great apes in our parks, in order to avoid any risk of transmission from Man to animal," announced the interim executive secretary of the ANPN, Christian Tchemambela.
"The respiratory viruses that affect humans are easily transmitted to great apes because of the proximity between these species," he said. Since Friday, Gabon has taken drastic measures to counter the spread of the virus on its territory, such as the closure of schools, bars and nightclubs, after a first case of coronavirus declared the day before. He is a 27-year-old man who returned from France.
Transmission to primates?
Authorities are also concerned about transmission of the virus to primates: Gabon, 88% covered by the forest, is home to an exceptional concentration of gorillas and chimpanzees. In 1995, an epidemic of the Ebola virus was enough to kill more than 90% of the gorillas in the north of the country.
In recent years, primate habituation programs have been set up in several of its parks, in order to attract visitors and to finance wildlife protection through income from ecotourism. "Because of the new coronavirus, humans in contact with these primates can constitute a threat," explains Christian Tchemambela, who specifies that the staff working in the parks where these programs exist will be placed in "14-day quarantine" before being able to enter it.
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