Print This Page
 

Insecticide Exposure causes Mutant Apes in Uganda


Scientists have found a strange group of mutant apes in Uganda who have flattened noses and abnormally small nostrils - or even no nostrils at all.

Researchers believe one in four chimpanzees and baboons in the area have been born with facial deformities - including concave faces and a number who also have missing fingers.

The deformities are believed to have been caused by a dangerous concoction of insecticides used by local farmers which represent previously underestimated threats to endangered apes.

Scientists now want to look at the potentially horrendous effect these chemicals could have on humans.

Researchers believe one in four of chimpanzees and baboons in the area were born with facial deformities - including concave faces and a number who also have missing fingers.

Some baboons had additional openings near their nostrils.

One female had a cleft lip and many females appeared to have reproductive problems.

By 2016, 25 per cent of chimpanzees and 17 per cent of baboons were born with striking physical deformities - although other populations just nine miles away were born healthy.

Researchers found an insecticide called Chlorpyrifos was higher than authorized levels and likely to be causing the deformities.

Another insecticide called DDT was also found in the neighboring farm - a chemical which was banned in the US in the 1970s.

Kibale National Park in southern Uganda is one of the most diverse regions in Africa and home to more than a dozen species of primate.

Until 2014, facial deformities among the ape population were a rarity - with only two sightings before 2014.

However, by 2016, 25 per cent of chimpanzees and 17 per cent of baboons were born with striking physical deformities - although other populations just nine miles away were born healthy.

Because chimpanzees are protected, researchers could not take blood samples of interfere with them physically.

They took samples from the soil from nearby farms and also tested fish in the region for traces of pesticides.

Note:

'Our inquiries in villages and tea factories near Sebitoli revealed use of eight pesticides (glyphosate, cypermethrin, profenofos, mancozeb, metalaxyl, dimethoate, chlorpyrifos and 2,4-D amine)', researchers wrote.

'Chemical analysis of samples collected from 2014 to 2016 showed that mean levels of pesticides in fresh maize stems and seeds, soils, and river sediments in the vicinity of the chimpanzee territory exceed recommended limits.

Researchers found an insecticide called Chlorpyrifos was higher than authorized levels and likely to be causing the deformities.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk




Back to Organic Records Search