AI Article Synopsis

  • Critically endangered orangutans are translocated for various reasons, including reintroducing them to areas without wild populations and reinforcing existing ones; however, this process poses disease risks, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • During the COVID-19 pandemic, experts advised halting orangutan translocations to minimize the risk of transmitting human diseases, but some releases occurred, exposing orangutans to potential human-borne diseases.
  • The study recommends conducting a Disease Risk Analysis, enhancing pathogen surveillance, and exploring conservation strategies other than translocation, such as reducing human-orangutan interactions and protecting natural habitats.

Article Abstract

Critically Endangered orangutans are translocated in several situations: reintroduced into historic range where no wild populations exist, released to reinforce existing wild populations, and wild-to-wild translocated to remove individuals from potentially risky situations. Translocated orangutans exposed to human diseases, including Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), pose risks to wild and previously released conspecifics. Wildlife disease risk experts recommended halting great ape translocations during the COVID-19 pandemic to minimize risk of disease transmission to wild populations. We collected data on orangutan releases and associated disease risk management in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic, and developed a problem description for orangutan disease and conservation risks. We identified that at least 15 rehabilitated ex-captive and 27 wild captured orangutans were released during the study period. Identified disease risks included several wild-to-wild translocated orangutans in direct contact or proximity to humans without protective equipment, and formerly captive rehabilitated orangutans that have had long periods of contact and potential exposure to human diseases. While translocation practitioners typically employ mitigation measures to decrease disease transmission likelihood, these measures cannot eliminate all risk, and are not consistently applied. COVID-19 and other diseases of human origin can be transmitted to orangutans, which could have catastrophic impacts on wild orangutans, other susceptible fauna, and humans should disease transmission occur. We recommend stakeholders conduct a Disease Risk Analysis for orangutan translocation, and improve pathogen surveillance and mitigation measures to decrease the likelihood of potential outbreaks. We also suggest refocusing conservation efforts on alternatives to wild-to-wild translocation including mitigating human-orangutan interactions, enforcing laws and protecting orangutan habitats to conserve orangutans .

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8633116PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.749547DOI Listing

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