Young primates are very inventive in their play behaviour - and although this was not the intended purpose of these colourful prayer flags in Nepal, this juvenile Rhesus Macaque Macaca mulatta is having great fun swinging on them. As tourists and pilgrims ascend the steps to Swayambhunath, a Buddhist stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal, macaques mingle fearlessly eating offerings of rice and fruit left by devotees, giving its alternative name of 'Monkey Temple'. This delightful video is No.62 to #BrightenYourDay during the #Covid19 #pandemic #lockdown, but it has a serious implication too.

The question hanging over all such places, where human and non-human primates interact, is how the Covid-19 pandemic will change our behaviour, however important for cultural or religious reasons - and in particular how can we prevent the transmission of the SARS-Cov-2 virus to wildlife.

Research indicates that Old World monkeys and apes are likely to be susceptible to infection by the novel #coronavirus, though no cases have yet been confirmed in the wild. If infection were to occur, symptoms might or might not be worse than in humans - but even if not, infected animals feeling ill would more easily fall prey to predators. The Bronx Zoo has confirmed Covid-19 in tigers, which raises the serious prospect of the virus spreading to any susceptible species in the ecosystem, potentially adding a new threat to already endangered species.