Marauding macaques: a monkey business we could do without
This is the last thing we need in Hong Kong right now. Soaring political temperature, skyrocketing rents, pollution - and now a rising population of monkeys has been added to the list.
This is the last thing we need in Hong Kong right now. Soaring political temperature, skyrocketing rents, pollution - and now a rising nuisance of monkeys has been added to the list.
From their country park habitat around Kam Shan, these macaques are now venturing into urban areas in search food, posing a threat to the people living there.
Experts say the macaques are losing their natural instinct of foraging for food in the wild as people feed them. These monkeys - and I don't mean the ones feeding them - now think anyone they see with food is fair game.
As a part of the plans to control the menace, authorities planted 200,000 fruit-bearing trees. Surely that should have worked, given that the count of wild monkeys is somewhere around 2,000. But, as we know, government plans often do not work as expected.
The trees they planted provided fruits only for six months, according to Professor David Dudgeon, head of the University of Hong Kong's department of ecology and biodiversity. In addition, some trees may have been planted in areas where the monkeys are not usually found.
The combined effect of all this is that the macaques now search for food in other areas. One of them was captured outside the Lam Tin public library. The report did not specify, but one suspects - given the foresight our officials display - the culprit may have been looking for books to prepare for the next civil service exams.
Another city that hits the headlines regularly over marauding monkeys is New Delhi, where the Indian parliament often comes under direct threat.
Authorities there used to hire captive langurs, an enemy of the macaques, to scare them away until environmental laws banned the practice of keeping langurs in captivity. After that, monkey business continued unabated, both inside and outside the parliament.
The new government has now hired 40 "talented" people who can mimic the sound of langurs to scare away the macaques.
Hong Kong's bureaucracy might be accused of aping their counterparts in New Delhi, but that is one thing they can try too. Given the display of monkey-like behaviour in this city, finding the people shouldn't be that difficult.
