Monkey business

Translocation is not the solution to the monkey menace plaguing many Indian cities. What is required is a realistic plan that is also humane.

KEEP A DISTANCE: People feeding the monkeys is what causes much of the problem.

WHICH town, village and city in India does not have a monkey problem? The monkeys of Delhi are perhaps the most notorious — caught prowling through the chambers of Parliament, ripping up records and computers. They are not mere destroyers of crops and property; they transmit serious diseases to man — like TB and rabies. Although there are flashpoints of conflict all over the country there is no national policy on how to tackle them. Since the Wildlife Protection Act protects all species of monkeys, the onus is on the Ministry of Forests and Environment .

Over the last six months, a draft action plan was circulated by the MoEF, which advocates translocation of troops and sterilisation of male monkeys. For years we believed that animals would know how to take care of themselves when released in the wild. But studies carried out in recent years have highlighted a range of problems faced by translocated monkeys. Young animals are taught which species of fruits and flowers to eat by their parents and other troop members. City born and bred simians are like fish out of water in the jungle. How would monkeys used to marriage halls and temples know the varieties of edible forest fruits? How would monkeys used to dodging dogs and humans know anything about pythons and leopards? I wasn't surprised when a monkey trapper employed by the Chennai Wildlife Warden's office narrated an anecdote of monkeys who returned after travelling at least 14 km. They would rather risk coming back home to abuses and stones than slowly starving to death in the forest.
Translocation

Although the authorities are aware that translocation merely relocates the problem and doesn't really address the issue, they continue to move large number of animals from urban areas to forest areas, from one rural area to another, from one state to another at random and arbitrarily. For decades the Delhi Municipal Corporation has been moving hundreds of monkeys out of the city every year. In 2004, about 500 monkeys (comprising several family troops) were trapped in Delhi and released in Pilibhut and Kuno National Park. Today no one knows what became of these monkeys; enquiries reveal that local authorities had no idea that any monkeys
were released in these areas under their jurisdiction.

Ban feeding

But who created the problem in the first place? We did, by wilfully feeding free-ranging monkeys. When we feed monkeys we send the message that we are subordinate to them, says Dr. Dittus. So they begin to think that every human should feed them and ones that don't have to be shown their place. That's when monkeys become aggressive and turn on people. There should be a ban on feeding of monkeys.

Dr. Mewa Singh, a primatologist at the University of Mysore, advocates the use of monkey-proof garbage bins so there is no food available for wandering freeloaders. It is ultimately up to the authorities to come up with a realistic action plan that does not merely shunt the problem around and is humane to the animals.

There is a committed group of primatologists in this country whose expertise should be sought in drafting any action plan. A plan drawn up without their involvement will be scientifically unsound and in the long run it simply won't work.