News
Visakha SPCA: Where did all the monkeys come from?
June 07, 2007, 12:0AM MT
By Sharon St. Joan
India Campaign, Day Seven
India Campaign, Day Seven
Pradeep turns his thoughts to the monkey dilemma
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Pradeep Nath, Founder of the Visakha SPCA, was interviewed by Sharon St. Joan on the problem of roaming bands of monkeys in the streets of Indian cities. Some of the monkeys are trained by their captors to be pickpockets or to steal mobile phones. Others, who have been abandoned, simply behave like unruly monkeys. They snatch food out of peoples' hands. They destroy property, and sometimes they uproot trees.
Sharon Do you know what is causing the increase in the bands of monkeys in Indian cities?
Pradeep There are mainly two reasons for the increase in the monkeys. Firstly, nomads, or beggars, catch these absolutely baby monkeys from their mothers, sometimes even by killing the parents. They carry them to different areas and into the urban areas. The monkeys are taught all the dirty tricks in the world from cheating to snatching, etc. to help these nomads. When the monkeys grow in size and become adamant or stubborn, not wanting to carryout these activities, or becoming too lazy or too old to do so, they are left abandoned in the cities.
The second point is drastic urbanzation. Colonies of forest reserves are being encroached upon and buidings coming up where these monkeys were staying.
The classic example has been that of Sullurpeta in the Nellore District (in the south of the Indian State of Andhra Pradesh). It was actually a forest area where this village was built and where the Indian Space Research Township is now, and the nearby areas have been developed. Before the Space Center, this land belonged to the monkeys, and thus the monkeys are dependent on the human residential areas because they have lost their entire habitat.
It is now a prevalent problem in every city, and the monkeys have been kidnapped and trained by the nomads. The complaints from the public are more serious with them than for the dogs. In areas like Delhi even the government offices are not spared. They have to keep their windows closed. So also in Sullurpeta the ISRO = Indian Space Research Organization spends hundreds of thousands of rupees in keeping the doors and windows closed with mesh.
Sharon: How do you feel that this human/wildlife conflict should be approached by groups wanting to help the monkeys?
Pradeep: I feel that the government must take a serious look at stopping the human encroachments into the forest areas, which are the monkeys' habitats.
There must be no more human construction or urbanization. This must be limited.
The nomads and other people engaged in bringing the monkeys to urban areas and areas that never had monkeys before must be punished and the monkeys rehabilitated suitably after due treatment.
Special facilities must be established as monkey rehabilitation centers.
There is a debate over whether or not monkeys should be sterilized.
In my view they should not be, because the culprits are the humans
who are expanding into wilderness areas.
It is important to bring awareness and humane education to the tribal people.
The people often most likely to come into contact with the monkeys in what is left of their once extensive habitat are tribal people. These are people who live on the edges of modern society in their own groups and villages.
Sharon:What do you feel is important for people to know about monkeys?
Pradeep: In India the monkey is considered as Hanuman the disciple of Lord Rama, and hence they are revered also. But when the human/wildlife conflict takes a violent turn for the sake of food then it is a question of survival.
The people do understand all of this, and there is a lot of sympathy for the cause of the monkeys, and that is why there is a lot of support for them. But we need to take some action, as surely the monkeys cannot survive forever in the urban areas and cannot roam on the streets. Once monkeys do this and become used to being fed, then they cannot be rehabilitated into the forests. Thus people need to be well educated in this regard, and they should inform or call the nearest animal welfare organization or the Forest Department when they see monkeys in the city.
Sharon: How many bonnet macaques are there in Visakhapatnam?
Pradeep: I do not really know about the population of bonnets in Visakhapatnam as do not count them, but there are many nomads with monkey populations and I am unable to catch them all for rehabilitation as have no place to keep them for treatment as we are filled up presently with 11 monkeys which have to be released.
We thank Pradeep Nath for his valuable insights into the dilemma of the monkeys. Like many human/wildlife conflicts, the world over, this one will not find an easy solution. There is only one planet earth and we human beings have so far had trouble sharing it with our fellow mortals.
If the visions Pradeep is suggesting for the future are ever to be put into effect, it will require large scale cooperative effort, a will to save wild species, and a level of discipline and restraint on the part of humans that is rare.
How you can help
The Visakha SPCA needs support in their efforts to care for mistreated monkeys and release them back to the forest to lead happy, natural lives, and in their programs to educate people about the need to preserve wild, forest areas for monkeys and other wildlife.
If you'd like to help the Visakha SPCA and other India animal groups,
you may give through the International Rescue Fund - India. There is a donation button in the column to the right.
Thank you for your kindness in helping!
The website of Visakha SPCA is:
http://www visakhaspca.org