What happen's when troops of monkeys hits the city?

“I like to be a traveler; the forest isn’t my place anymore, well not much forest is left either. Humans think I am adorable, that I have the cutest eyes well they don’t know me well. I enjoy doing different job's- sometimes at the circus, sometimes I assist the magician even the thief I enjoy snatching shiny things. Also, I love all kinds of food, i see no difference in where it’s from, commonly people call me monkey but my name is- Bonnet macaque.”

Moved into civilization, these monkeys are creating tension in different parts of Bengaluru city. As humans grow more kind to their cuteness these species have forgotten their natural habitat and wild instincts, they no longer know how to get their food. Lack of this knowledge monkeys end up snatching and stealing food from people. “It is usually a cycle, one person gives the monkey a piece of what he is eating at one particular time and then he repeats the same the coming days, monkeys are highly intelligent creatures they wait for the person to give them food if they don’t get it they go violent creating a huge mess,” said Vijay Shankar, an urban wildlife conservationist.

Photo Credit: Yashas Bharadwaj

“Residents of Bengaluru are raising the same complaint, that they no longer can walk with grocery bags without fear as these monkeys come in troops snoop in the bags and steal whatever we have,” said Tejaswini H, a resident and a wildlife enthusiast.

Experts say that it is not an option to move these monkeys, as they won’t survive easily in new locations. The only thing that can be done is to educate the public in not creating a feeding pattern to the monkeys on the roads or by that fact petting them.

Photo Credit: Shilpa Mariam Anil