Forest Dept. places cage to trap monkeys that raid houses for food

Department staff also visited an apartment at Uppilipalayam near Singanallur where residents complained of the problem.

A monkey on its search for food at a house in the city.

The Forest Department has placed a cage in a gated community in Coimbatore to trap monkeys that are raiding houses for food items.

According to the Department, several complaints were received from city residents regarding the menace posed by monkeys that mainly steal food through open windows.

Assistant Conservator of Forests M. Senthil Kumar said that another cage would be kept in a place that monkeys visited frequently.

The Department suspects that more than one troop of bonnet macaques (

Macaca radiata ) are wandering in the city, stealing food from houses and shops.

“We placed a trap cage in a gated community on Nanjundapuram Road after residents complained that six simians were creating a menace,” said Mr. Kumar.

The Department staff also visited an apartment at Uppilipalayam near Singanallur where residents complained of the problem. Troops of monkeys were sighted earlier in another gated community on Nanjundapuram Road and in an apartment at Race Course.

“They move on the sunshade of buildings and look for open windows of kitchens. They grab whatever they can before the inmates notice.

“If there are no people, they take all items that they can access through the windows,” said a woman resident of P.N. Palayam.