Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda are all closing their national parks, home to the endangered mountain gorillas and other great apes, amid fears that the animals may be exposed to the COVID-19 virus by visiting tourists. The great apes currently being protected in these national parks – gorillas and chimpanzees – are genetically very closely related to humans. This threat of potential contagion from humans is real.
Silverback gorilla in Congo. Image credit: telegraph.co.uk
The full story is available at: Mongabay.com. National parks in Africa close over COVID-19 threat to great apes.
Robby Robin's Journey 
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I’d thought of this the other day after I’d watched a video of monkeys running the streets of Thailand (now that people are not out). I wondered how they’re going to protect those animals.
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Gosh, Kathy, I hadn’t thought about that potentially at-risk animal population. All kinds of major cities in India, SE Asia, Africa, and South and Central America have large populations of cheeky monkeys roaming everywhere, people or no people. I wonder what kind of risk they might be under. They won’t be high up the priority list, so I guess we’ll find out. 😧😲
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Exactly. Some people aren’t even high on the priority list, so I can’t imagine.
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So sad, so true. In this particular situation, some extraordinarily incompetent leaders haven’t even been trying to protect the usual suspects at the expense of the rest; their ignorance, egos, and bad decisions have negatively impacted everyone! 😥😱
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It feels like there is no end to the impacts of this disease, Jane. Ugh.
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I fear we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg, Cynthia. When it hits poorer countries, who don’t have the resources we have and look how we’re flailing to get on top of it. If it hits refugee camps, I don’t want to even think about the outcome. Our economies will be devastated for a period of time, but those other countries depend on us buying their products to survive. It’s a nightmare. I only hope I’m proven wrong. 😥
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I hear you, Jane. Frightening, especially for those countries who have far less than ours.
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