Copyright storm as Wikipedia refuses to delete monkey ‘selfie’

Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia, has refused a photographer's request to remove a 'selfie' taken by a monkey on the ground that the self-picture was taken by the animal rather than the photographer.

Original Self-portrait of a female Celebes crested macaque (Macaca nigra) in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, who had picked up photographer David Slater's camera and photographed herself with it.

Wildlife photographer David Slater was on a trip to Indonesia when an endangered crested black macaque grabbed his camera and started taking hundreds of pictures.

When Slater looked at the shots, he spotted an incredible selfie of the grinning ape staring right into the camera lens.

The pictures went viral on websites, newspapers and magazines across the globe as the Gloucestershire photographer's work was thrust into the internet spotlight.

But now the picture has cropped up on Wikipedia and his attempts to remove it have so far been unsuccessful.

Slater said, "When I saw the picture I was just stunned. It was made even better when the story was picked up and it made thousands of people around the world happy. I had letters of congratulations from people as far as Iraq saying I'd made their day."

But he says he is facing a £10,000-legal bill because Wikimedia, the organisation behind the site, says he doesn't own the copyright - because the monkey took the picture.

He said, "They [Wikipedia] have denied my request to take off their site.

"The photograph from 2011 got worldwide coverage because the monkey took it but some claimed because the monkey took the pictures - she owns the copyright. It makes me very angry.

''I'm a professional photographer - it costs me over £2,000 to do the trip. It's my livelihood.

"You take 20,000 shots to get one image that sells; it was potentially a good earner for me. I've lost over £10,000 pounds because of it."