OVER the years, researchers have provided ample evidence that great apes, including orangutans, are susceptible to human diseases, including respiratory ones.

Humans are also known to be vulnerable to great ape pathogens. The human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43) is known to infect chimpanzees. While it is still unclear whether great apes are prone to SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has said for now, it’s best to assume that great apes are susceptible.

Last month, the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD), which manages the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre (SORC), announced that it is temporarily closing SORC’s doors to tourists after the government imposed the movement-control order (MCO).

We do not doubt that the centre’s staff are concerned about the potential Covid-19 risk to orangutans and themselves. There have, however, been unsustainable tourism practices at SORC for more than 20 years. In pursuing such practices, SWD has shown an evident lack of regard for the health not only of the orangutans at the centre, but also of staff and tourists. It is high time SWD prioritises the health and welfare of the orangutans and those visiting and caring for them, not profits.

IUCN’s great ape tourism guidelines, authored by conservation experts, state that tourism should not be allowed at orangutan rehabilitation centres or in forests that are home to orangutans released after rehabilitation. This advice must be adhered to, to minimise both orangutan habituation to humans and disease transmission risks.

SWD ignored this recommendation. During twice-a-day visiting slots at SORC, tourists are ushered into a forest adjacent to the centre to view orangutans, including released ones. The number of tourists who have visited the centre is big. Research has shown that tourism at SORC can increase the risk of diseases being transmitted to the orangutans.

Numerous children have visited SORC. This is despite the fact that the IUCN guidelines state that children under 15 should not be allowed to visit great apes as they are more likely than adults to release pathogens.

The practice in the forest at SORC has been to place food on a platform to lure out orangutans and enable tourists to see and photograph them. According to experts’ guidelines, this practice is unacceptable, and it is unlikely to be without consequences.

A study published in 2008 revealed that the infant orangutan death rate is higher at SORC than in zoos. The authors of the study said the possible increase in disease transmission and aggression resulting from frequent close encounters among orangutans gathered on the feeding platform might be one reason for this high death rate.

Not only has the main IUCN recommendation on tourism restrictions been ignored at SORC, but also, other expert advice has not been followed. According to IUCN guidelines, there should be no more than four people in any group of tourists visiting great apes, and only one visit per day should be allowed. IUCN also recommends the periodic closure of centres such as SORC, but SORC has always operated all year round.

Because the centre has not followed IUCN guidelines, many orangutans there have become habituated to humans. SORC’s volunteer programme, where members of the public pay to engage in the rehabilitation of orangutans, exacerbates this problem.

Habituation to humans causes orangutans to lose their fear of humans, and this has resulted in orangutans often being seen roaming terrestrially at SORC. This undesirable behaviour brings some orangutans to within a few metres of tourists and staff during visiting hours. There is a higher prevalence of malarial infection among orangutans at SORC than among wild orangutans, and research has shown this could be because of their close proximity to humans.

The IUCN guidelines state that to reduce the risk of disease transmission, tourists should wear a mask if they come within 10m of great apes, and should never get closer than 7m. While SORC staff have tried to control crowds during visiting hours, it is a challenge to manage the movement of every tourist and human-habituated orangutan. There is photographic evidence of human-habituated orangutans at SORC grabbing tourists, and there have even been reports of orangutans attacking visitors to the centre.

Since our investigations began at SORC nearly 10 years ago, we have never observed tourists being obliged to wear a mask, and we rarely saw staff in charge of tourists wearing one.

In a recent Bernama report, SWD is quoted as saying it started handing out masks to visitors when the Covid-19 pandemic began. The use of masks should have been made mandatory at SORC years ago.

Research has shown that tourists who are ill do visit SORC, including people with symptoms of respiratory illness. This increases the risk of pathogen transmission to orangutans and staff. Providing disinfecting foot dips and hand sanitiser is essential, but such measures are insufficient.

We recognise that many locals earn a living through tourism at SORC. However, SWD must urgently draw up plans for a transition to sustainable orangutan tourism in the state, and adopt all IUCN guidelines on great ape tourism. The implementation may take time, but SWD must be transparent about the process.

One positive initiative that could be undertaken is developing a tourism model that involves transferring unreleasable orangutans from their cages to naturalistic enclosures outside the centre. If SWD does nothing, and in the meantime, SORC reopens to tourists without any improvement, a boycott campaign will become inevitable. – April 29, 2020.

* Upreshpal Singh is director of Friends of the Orangutans (Malaysia).

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.