International Journal of Management, Technology And Engineering ISSN NO : 2249-7455

Monkey menace, its management

Prof. Metuku Devender Reddy
Dean (Academic)
M.S.Swaminathan School of Agriculture
Centurion University, Parlakhemundi, Odisha
[email protected]
Mobile: 9440940950
Abstract- In India, a third of the world's wild Rhesus macaques (common monkey) live. Drying up of water bodies and
non availability of food sources in the forests is the reason for migration of monkeys in to human habitation. The human
settlements in and around forests is leading to displacement of animals from their habitat which directly affect the food
availability of wild animals. As a result, the struggle of wild animals for food, water and space has expanded beyond
forest areas. The life expectancy of monkeys increased because of their proximity to villages and cities due to assured food
and safety in villages and towns thereby get more time with them for procreation and better chances of survival. The
monkey’s damage crops and cause heavy loss of crops. Though the efforts made by different states for control of monkey
menace, the success rate is very poor. India needs a combination of strategies, from a new institutional mechanism to
adopting new technological solutions. The monkey menace plaguing in the country is unlikely to abate in the foreseeable
future and people may well be resigned to sharing space and food with their simian cousins until the issue is addressed in
serious manner.
Key Words: Monkey menace, Rhesus macaques (common monkey), Crop loss, Attempts to fight monkey menace,
Protection of crops from monkeys
INTRODUCTION

Monkey menace:
This article I am writing in response to news item on expert committee constituted to find a solution to the monkey
menace which appeared in leading Daily news papers on April 3, 18 in Hyderabad Editions.

This article may help in finding causes and solution to the monkey menace in India particularly in Telugu speaking
states where farmers could not adopt desired cropping systems due to monkey menace. Monkey menace has reached
epic proportions in India. According to a publication of the Centre for Science and Environment, the agriculture
sector is suffering due to monkeys in India, besides erratic rainfall.

Monkeys come in groups of 15-20, making life of farmers and residents difficult in villages. The National Institute
of Disaster Management stated that between 2007 and 2012, the Himachal Pradesh has lost 2,200 crore worth
agriculture produce due to monkeys. Similarly, 250 villages in Jammu region lost farm produce in 15596 ha costing
Rs 33 crore every year due to attacks by wild monkeys. In Karnataka, crops worth Rs 5 crore in 2010 were lost
because of monkey’s attack. In Karkala taluka near Mangalore, close to 800 small farmers gave up cultivation after

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International Journal of Management, Technology And Engineering ISSN NO : 2249-7455

monkeys destroyed 75 per cent of crops in the area in 2012. This type of crop damage has been reported from
different states of India including telugu speaking states.

In India, a third of the world's wild Rhesus macaques (common monkey) live. During sixties and seventies,
agriculture was expanding in India, and that had mixed results for the monkeys as well. The increased food
production that resulted from the Indian Green Revolution may have contributed to the recuperation of the monkeys'
population in the Eighties.

Most of these monkeys (as many as 85%) live in close proximity to human settlements. Since the late Seventies,
India’s macaque populations have been growing steadily. The ban on export of Rhesus has resulted in a phenomenal
increase in their populations, and being a species that is well adapted to human habitation, this has consequently
resulted in an increase in man-monkey conflicts. Monkeys are jungle animals who do not belong in cities, and who
might prosper best away from humans.

The monkeys have a higher life expectancy and due to assured food and safety left more time with them for
procreation and better chances of survival. Further, people believe their relationship with the god Hanuman.
Moreover, in urban areas, irresponsible feeding the monkeys at temples and other places has aggravated the monkey
menace..

Monkey menace in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh

The severe heat wave force the wild animals to leave their habitat for cooler environs and many animals migrate
within the forest and to nearby villages in search of water and food. Unavailability of water and absence of water
resources in the forest area is the cause for the animals' water woes. Drying up of water bodies and non availability
of food sources in the forests is another reason of migration of monkeys in to human habitation. In Medak,
Nizamabad, Warangal, Karimnagar, Nalgonda, Mahbubnagar, Kurnool, Prakasam, Chittoor and Vishakhapatnam
districts, tackling monkeys near to forests is a major challenge the people in those areas.

Over population of monkeys and their excessive presence in human settlements has become a problem in many TS
and AP districts including Hyderabad. Apart from this, monkeys are released into the forests. But there is no
guarantee that the monkeys will stay in the forests as humans collect almost everything edible from there.

From the forests, everything is collected for human consumption which create a situation of no food to the monkeys.
This forces the monkeys to enter human habitations. Monkeys come in groups and destroy all standing crops by
uprooting plants, entering in to houses and snatching food.

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International Journal of Management, Technology And Engineering ISSN NO : 2249-7455

The number of monkeys plaguing the cities and towns are not available, a rough estimate say that about two lakh
Rhesus Macaques (the most common monkey species in the state) roam freely in Telangana state. In Hyderabad
alone, their population is estimated between 1,000 and 2,000.

Why monkey menace in rural and urban areas:

The man-animal conflict is mainly because of destruction and disturbances of wildlife habitats .
The human settlements in and around forests is leading to displacement of animals from their habitat which directly
affect the food availability of wild animals. As a result, the struggle of wild animals for food, water and space has
expanded beyond forest areas.

Decrease in natural vegetation/ water sources (springs and small streams), leading to grim and difficult summers that
pushes wild animals into villages close to the dwindling forests. The forests where monkeys live are void of food,
leaving the monkeys with no choice but to look for food in human-occupied areas. Even the city dwellers are also
struggling to cope with monkey menace. The monkey menace has been reported from almost all cities in India
where monkeys encroaching and destroying property and robbing people. Many researchers blame humans for
aggressive monkey behavior.

A Rhesus macaque has to spend about 10 to 14 hours in search of food in forests while in dwellings of urban or
human settlements in a rural area finding food takes only 10 minutes. According to a 2013 research carried out the
Primate Research Laboratory of the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, in south India Rheuses macaques breed
at the rate of 36 per cent a year.

The life expectancy of monkeys increased because of their proximity to villages and cities. In the forests, the
monkey numbers are kept in check by a limited supply of natural forest foods and water and the wild primates up to
80 per cent die before adulthood. The government’s practice of translocation of monkeys from the cities to forest
areas near rural areas is the other reason for behavioral shift in monkeys.

States attempt to fight the menace

The state governments swung into action for control of monkeys as they are damaging crops. The strategies include,
culling and sterilization (Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh) which had limited success and awareness campaigns
not to feed monkeys. Some states tried employing ultrasonic guns that can scare monkeys away and create van
vatika or small sanctuaries for different troops. Monkeys are territorial; they monitor their neighbour’s movements
and discover food source, and also left undefended by their rival monkeys. The monkeys live groups and when the
population of monkey’s increases they another group. New monkeys fill the void and their numbers soon swell to

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match the original pest populations. The Telangana state plans to increase tree cover from the present 24 per cent to
33 per cent and increase the food for monkey’s in forests.

How to protect crops from monkeys:

India needs a combination of strategies, from a new institutional mechanism to adopting new technological
solutions.

First, management of monkeys as a species needs to be brought under the Union list of the Constitution, which will
enable a national programme to monitor, control their population and plan for effective strategies. The experiences
of Hong Kong and Japan combine well-targeted popular methods like sterilisation and culling as well as
technological innovations to keep monkeys at bay.

Between 2008 and 2012, the birth rate fell from 68.9 per cent to 30.2 per cent, according to a study by Chinese
University of Hong Kong in 2013. Japan gained control over the monkey population with a series of policies that
included targeted culling, reviving of natural habitats and employing people to guard crops against attacks.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, and Via Life, a Bengaluru-based company
developed a low-cost acoustic device which repel animals from entering the farms. The Central Zoo Authority of
India in collaboration with the National Primate Center in California, developed a strategy with the Wildlife Institute
of India to use oral contraceptives, female sterilization and vasectomies, however, this does not help.

The India’s Union environment ministry refused a proposal by the Himachal Pradesh government to declare
monkeys as vermin in March 2014. On the other hand, the ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change
(MoEF&CC) issued a notification in December, 2014, seeking opinion from states on the menace caused by nilgais
or blue bulls and wild boars.

Monkeys are known to be scared of Langurs (Black faced monkeys) and won’t come anywhere close if Langurs are
present. A trained Langur will take care of entire farm. Sealed small packets of boneless dry fish pieces kept around
the field, the practice of driving them away by beating drums and using well trained dogs, throughing of bananas
and biscuits mixed with red chilli powder in front of them, use loud-speakers to play sound of 4-5 dogs barking, Use
Fire crackers (which make huge sound) like rasi bum/ sutli-bum and denying the monkey’s acces to food in
residential areas and not feeding them are some of the methods adopted for driving away of monkey’s.

The fruit trees around the house are a potential food source that could attract monkeys. If this is a consistent
problem, consider not to cultivate fruit trees. Similarly growing of vegetables also. It is also needed to monkey-proof
all the houses by a mesh covering. Education and awareness raising are essential for long-term solutions to be
successful. Repelling monkeys by human scaring, deploying an electronic sound repellent.

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The sounds cause stress and discomfort for monkeys in the area, who will move away and avoid the sound. Growing
of Monkey Puzzle Tree (Araucaria araucana) a slow growing tree with unique foliage and one of the hardiest of the
conifer family, originally found on the lower slopes of the Chilean Andes which grow to a height of 40 metres scares
the monkeys.

The main approach in resolving human-monkey conflict is to forcibly trans-locate monkeys to a reserve. However,
unless proper care is taken in providing food and water for the monkeys in that area, this creates problem in the new
area.

CONCLUSION

The monkey menace plaguing rural and urban areas of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh which is unlikely to abate in
the foreseeable future and people may well be resigned to sharing space and food with their simian cousins until the
government decides to address the issue in serious manner.

The adoption of alternate crops depends on the effective management of monkeys and wild boars menace in
endemic areas.

REFERENCES
[1]. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/22336049. Effects of artificial feeding on aggressive behavior of rhesus monkeys in India
[2]. http://zeenews.india.com/news/eco-news/monkey menace has reached epic proportions in India-study.
[3]. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/monkey menace driving vizag farmers to despair/article.

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