Orangutan sanctuaries in Borneo have closed to the public due to the threat of the new coronavirus Freder/Getty Images
Endangered great apes are further threatened by the new coronavirus, according to researchers who say there is a “difficult battle” ahead to protect the animals from possible infection.
Gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees and bonobos are known to be susceptible to human respiratory illnesses, sometimes becoming much more ill from them than people do.
For example, a virus called metapneumovirus typically causes an infection with cold-like symptoms in humans, but has led to more severe outcomes in chimpanzees, including the deaths of young…
