Gorilla Tourism: Look, but don’t touch or get touched

Gerry, I am glad that you posted this message of concern and wish there was a way to get the points you raise out to the masses who watched the YouTube video. As like countless others, I did watch the experience with some awe and pondered what it would be like to see these extraordinary animals in the wild (not necessarily in the camp; I had that experience with a rogue elephant in the Maasai Mara once). I even envied for a moment, my vet who is currently on a gorilla trek in Uganda. But I kept thinking about a different sort of risk than you note; these animals are wild and, as such, unpredictable and possibly dangerous. The person featured in the video might have been “lucky” to have such a close encounter, but he was also lucky that no harm came from it to him. We don’t know how the apes were impacted.

You quote from the MGVP report that raises an important dilemma too seldom considered by the mega-fauna adoring public: “Although human proximity to mountain gorillas is essential for their conservation, also crucial is minimizing the risk for human-to–great ape transmission of respiratory pathogens.” I teach a course each spring entitled “The Impact of Technology on Diet and Disease”. We talk about the origins of disease – often through the wild animal/human interface. Students read pieces from Jared Diamond about the negative impacts of the domestication of animals on human health and from Laurie Garrett (“The Coming Plague”). But I hadn’t previously discussed this in the reverse direction with these students; that is, the risk we pose to the animal populations. I suppose if this was one of my conservation courses, I would have thought to do this. But now I will be sure to call attention to this in this human-focused course too!

So how then, do we raise awareness of the dire need for for conservation in general and, in particular, protection of endangered species? Animals, especially ones that look and act like us or ones that appear too cute to resist, can tug at heartstrings in ways that scientific data cannot. As a plant scientist, I also know that other species, no matter how beautiful or critical in the ecological web of life, do not have the same sort of power to capture the imagination and interest of the masses in the way that certain large vertebrates do.

I have a strong aversion to zoos, but many animal biologists claim that this is the only exposure to “wildlife” that many people have and thus, can be an important education and conservation tool. A few years ago in a Conservation Biology course, we had a rather heated discussion about the value of taxidermy animal displays in mega stores like Cabelas. (I am not opposed to hunting; just trophy hunting.) And while a trip to Kenya years ago was a childhood dream come true for me, I remember being disgusted by some of the guides/tour companies chasing after animals for their clients, disrupting the animals at rest or in the midst of a hunt just for the rude humans to get a closer look or a better picture — a trophy of a different sorts. [I was pleased that on the game drive on my recent trip to South Africa (a Christmas present for my son who also attended COP17), the guide had the utmost respect for the animals and started by saying that we were going into their territory and had to remember to respect that. No chasing but rather viewing with reverence in quiet, and often from a distance. No radio calls to other vehicles. No rude interruptions.]

Ecotourism can be good for conservation, but too often caters to the elite, adventure-seeking people and doesn’t put habitat and wildlife protection as the top priority. Game preserves in Africa can be well-intended, but humans will be humans! I simply don’t have the answer to this one. As someone who dislikes the propaganda that PETA uses, I doubt that we want to start showing videos of animals dying of human-transmitted diseases as an awareness campaign strategy!

I don’t know if you have heard of the play entitled “Tooth and Claw” by Pennsylvania playwright Michael Hollinger. If you ever get a chance to see it – do so. Set on the Galapagos Islands, the script is filled with environmental science and conservation biology (accurately described), and raises many complex questions including that of which species (including humans) are most important to protect. There is a wonderful debate about removing the “invasive” goats from the islands in order to save the Giant Tortoise from both the perspective of the scientists and the inhabitants of the islands who could describe all sorts of uses for goats, but no practical ones for the tortoise. They also point out that everything on the island was an “immigrant” including the people. The descriptions of natural selection, species gone extinct, and the tributes to Darwin were beautifully worded. The author weaves together themes of exploitation of ocean fisheries, poverty, extinction, culling populations, abortion, biodiversity, and the too often unheard voice of the people without power or money. Ah, but I digress.

I must now go make a donation to MGVP!