Who Took This Photo?

In 2011, wildlife photographer David J. Slater  was in a jungle on the island of Sulawesi, in Indonesia. He was photographing crested black macaque (muh-KAK) monkeys. The species is critically endangered, and Sulawesi is one of the last places they live in their natural habitat. Slater hoped his photos would bring attention to the monkeys and the threats they face.

Slater followed the macaques. He followed them through the jungle. Three days passed. He still hadn’t gotten a close-up picture of a macaque’s face. Then he had an idea: set his camera on a tripod and let the monkeys play with the camera themselves.The result was more spectacular than Slater ever could have imagined. The animals stared into the camera’s lens and made faces at their reflections. They pushed the camera’s button again and again. Most of the photos were blurry, but one was a perfect selfie of a  smirking macaque.

Not surprisingly, the monkey’s selfie was a big hit. Over the past decade, dozens of websites, magazines, and newspapers have published the photograph. 

Usually, photographers hold the rights to their work and earn a fee each time their work gets published, but some have questioned whether Slater should hold the rights to the monkey’s selfie, given that it was the monkey, not Slater, that took the picture. Slater, however, argues that it was his equipment, creativity, and expertise that made the photo possible, so he should indeed hold the rights.

An animal rights group sued on the monkey’s behalf. If anyone got paid for the photo, the group said, it should be the macaque that took the picture. 

But the judge in the case stated that an animal can’t legally own a selfie. So does this mean that Slater is the owner of the monkey selfie? Or does no one own it? The answer to that question is still up for debate. 

Meanwhile, Slater has decided to donate a portion of any money he earns from the image to groups that help protect crested black macaques. 

Surely that’s an idea that monkeys-and the people who care about them-can smile about.

^{This article was originally published in the December 2022/January 2023 issue.}