Sapolsky Essay on Tuberculosis in the Hotel Dump
A man named Robert Sapolsky traveled to Kenya every year to study a particular baboon troop for his research. Sapolsky described his experience, “…suddenly they are all around you and you choke up and swim in them— who looks exactly the same, who has aged, who has a new scar, who has new pubescent muscles…. And, of course, you see who is no longer there.” One day, the wardens mentioned to Sapolsky that the baboons were “falling out of trees” due to some sort of disease at the far corner of the other end of the reserve. The wardens wanted him to “figure out the problem”, and Sapolsky accepted the request. There was a troop of baboons near the game reserve hotel dump, and these baboons regularly …show more content…
However, it required a long process that included darting ill baboons and giving them autopsies to discover the way they were infected. One day Sapolsky transported a sick female baboon to a microbiologist in order to confirm whether it was TB by obtaining a lung culture. After weeks of waiting for the results, it was confirmed that these baboons had bovine TB. “We had M. bovis, bovine tuberculosis, and it was primarily in the guts. The baboons weren’t breathing TB from one another. They were eating it.” A man that was an adversary of the Masai tribe in Kenya was glad to reveal the Masai’s craftiness to Sapolsky. The meat of the cows was infected with TB and was fed to the baboons. Whenever a cow in Masai showed the signs of becoming infected with the disease, the Masai would sell their cows to a butcher named Timpai. The man told Sapolsky that he witnessed the butcher feeding the tubercular organs of the cow to the baboons. This disease spread to Sapolsky’s troop when the baboons consumed pieces of infected …show more content…
No baboons were infected in the distant troop. And in my own troop, two thirds of my males either were TB positive or had been spotted by me to fight for a scrap of the meat…” How could this plaque have been prevented? By stopping the butcher and others from feeding wild animals, these baboons would be protected from diseases. If they weren’t fed infected meat, the lives of many baboons would have been spared. The proper running of a game reserve would have the wardens enforce strict consequences for feeding wild animals. Education would allow people to become more aware of these problems, and there would be no jobs for the workers (including more business for the butcher) if it weren’t for these animals attracting the tourism. One additional possibility would be fencing around the garbage dump to prevent the animals from seeking or relying on human food. Also, in this specific incidence, there could be regulations on how one would dispose of their meat to prevent future diseases. I believe that if these regulations were followed, then the animals would be safer. Furthermore, Eco Tourism could be a positive benefit to the wildlife when profits are put towards resources such as fences, medical supplies, or hired staff to protect the
A man named Robert Sapolsky traveled to Kenya every year to study a particular baboon troop for his research. Sapolsky described his experience, “…suddenly they are all around you and you choke up and swim in them— who looks exactly the same, who has aged, who has a new scar, who has new pubescent muscles…. And, of course, you see who is no longer there.” One day, the wardens mentioned to Sapolsky that the baboons were “falling out of trees” due to some sort of disease at the far corner of the other end of the reserve. The wardens wanted him to “figure out the problem”, and Sapolsky accepted the request. There was a troop of baboons near the game reserve hotel dump, and these baboons regularly …show more content…
However, it required a long process that included darting ill baboons and giving them autopsies to discover the way they were infected. One day Sapolsky transported a sick female baboon to a microbiologist in order to confirm whether it was TB by obtaining a lung culture. After weeks of waiting for the results, it was confirmed that these baboons had bovine TB. “We had M. bovis, bovine tuberculosis, and it was primarily in the guts. The baboons weren’t breathing TB from one another. They were eating it.” A man that was an adversary of the Masai tribe in Kenya was glad to reveal the Masai’s craftiness to Sapolsky. The meat of the cows was infected with TB and was fed to the baboons. Whenever a cow in Masai showed the signs of becoming infected with the disease, the Masai would sell their cows to a butcher named Timpai. The man told Sapolsky that he witnessed the butcher feeding the tubercular organs of the cow to the baboons. This disease spread to Sapolsky’s troop when the baboons consumed pieces of infected …show more content…
No baboons were infected in the distant troop. And in my own troop, two thirds of my males either were TB positive or had been spotted by me to fight for a scrap of the meat…” How could this plaque have been prevented? By stopping the butcher and others from feeding wild animals, these baboons would be protected from diseases. If they weren’t fed infected meat, the lives of many baboons would have been spared. The proper running of a game reserve would have the wardens enforce strict consequences for feeding wild animals. Education would allow people to become more aware of these problems, and there would be no jobs for the workers (including more business for the butcher) if it weren’t for these animals attracting the tourism. One additional possibility would be fencing around the garbage dump to prevent the animals from seeking or relying on human food. Also, in this specific incidence, there could be regulations on how one would dispose of their meat to prevent future diseases. I believe that if these regulations were followed, then the animals would be safer. Furthermore, Eco Tourism could be a positive benefit to the wildlife when profits are put towards resources such as fences, medical supplies, or hired staff to protect the