In a bid to tackle the increasing monkey-human conflict in various parts of the State, the Forest Department will take up sterilisation of about 500 bonnet macaques at an estimated cost of ₹3 crore.
The department is looking at only monkeys in human settlements and will not be targeting those in forest areas. Once sterilised, they will be released back in the same area.
Sources in the department told The Hindu that they are in talks with the Wildlife Institute of India to finalise the initiative.
Consent needed
“In Thiruvananthapuram, there are success stories of chemical immuno sterilisation of monkeys. This would be the easiest, as we can dart the animals. The other option is regular sterilisation. We will go ahead with one of these procedures,” a senior official said. For chemical sterilisation, the department has to obtain consent from the Union government. Hence, officials are keeping both options open.
The move comes at a time when several localities are dealing with the increasing problem of monkey menace. At the same time, conservationists are finding it difficult to rehabilitate the animals.
Colonising residential complexes
Every day, Vallish V. Kaushik, conservationist and advisor to the BBMP, gets at least five calls from citizens reporting monkeys straying into residential complexes. Localities in the vicinity of Bannerghatta Road, Jnanabharathi and Yelahanka have seen a rise in such incidents.
What’s making it difficult is that these primates are used to urban areas and will not be able to cope with other groups in forests. This eliminates the option of rehabilitating them in nearby wildlife zones.
Rajashekar G., manager of Alpine Woods Apartment Complex on Bannerghatta Road (Begur Ward), said the problem has increased exponentially for them over the last one year with a group of 15-20 monkeys turning aggressive and attacking people.
“Several people have been attacked, beginning with pourakarmikas who come to collect garbage and other workers and residents. One resident was walking down the stairs holding glassware. She was startled when a monkey suddenly jumped in front of her. She dropped the glassware and injured herself,” he said.
“In another instance, some workers who had come to fix plumbing had to hide in bathrooms after being attacked by a group of monkeys. Several calls to BBMP officials did not elicit response,” he said.
At the other end of the city in Devanahalli, residents are facing a similar problem. Retired bureaucrat Gopal Menon recently bought a home, but is yet to move in, as he and his wife are concerned about the pack of monkeys in the compound. “There are several senior citizens in the area who are in wheelchairs and might be unable to defend themselves, if attacked. We are looking towards BBMP for help to resolve this conflict,” he said.
Decrease in their population, but conflict on the rise
Scientists at Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) in Coimbatore published a report recently on the decline of bonnet macaques in south India. Evidently, there is a decrease in the species in Karnataka, including Bengaluru. However, with the loss of tree cover and canopies, the primates are moving to apartment complexes.
The study points out that over the last 25 years, as much as 65% of the bonnet macaques’ population has decreased. In a survey conducted between 2001 and 2007, 21 groups of monkeys were spotted, with each group having an average of 23 members.
Honnavalli Kumara, a senior scientist at SACON who has been exclusively studying the species, said there has been a severe loss of habitat. “The wetlands are now converted into apartment spaces. There is no immediate solution to this conflict, as humans have invaded the habitat of bonnet macaques. Sterilising them might only lead to elimination of the species. Shifting the monkeys to a different place is only shifting the problem. The monkeys are now used to an urban setting. Even if relocated to a wildlife zone, they will immediately move back to the nearest road or village.”
Officials in the BBMP Forest Cell said it is up to the Forest Department to take decisions on resolving the issue and the civic body would only be the implementing agency.
