Feeding by public making monkeys aggressive

Straits Times Forum 4 Nov 10;

THE aggressive behaviour of monkeys (Ms Eunice Ong, 'Monkey menace at MacRitchie bus stop'; last Saturday) is the outcome of feeding by irresponsible members of the public.

Feeding monkeys alters their natural behaviour and lures them out of the forest in search of handouts. These monkeys pose a nuisance to the public - even to those who do not feed them.

Such monkeys do not only go after food that is handed to them or left in plain sight, but they also grab at plastic bags or any other food containers that the monkeys have been conditioned to recognise. When such monkeys become a nuisance to the public, we have no choice but to trap and send them to be euthanised.

Left on their own, monkeys will forage for food in the forest. Unfortunately. feeding of monkeys persists despite strict regulations and enforcement prohibiting feeding in parks and nature reserves. If the situation does not improve, we may consider increasing the fines further as a deterrence.

We advise park visitors to keep food and snacks in backpacks and not in plastic bags. Should anyone encounter monkeys, do not feed them or eat in their presence. Avoid eye contact with the monkeys and walk away. Let the monkeys return to their natural habitat to forage.

James Gan
Assistant Director, Central Nature Reserve
National Parks Board

Monkey menace at MacRitchie bus stop
Straits Times Forum 30 Oct 10;

I REFER to recent news about the death of a baby in Malaysia after a monkey snatched her from her home ("Monkey dropped baby from rooftop"; Oct 8).

On Monday, I was waiting for a bus outside MacRitchie Reservoir when I heard the screams of a woman behind me and a young girl telling her to "give him your shopping bag". The woman had been confronted by a monkey which had daringly snatched her shopping bag. She had no choice but to drop it to stop the monkey from attacking her, and the monkey later ran back to the field behind the bus stop. It was then that I noticed another two monkeys lurking about in very close proximity to the bus stop.

The young girl, a resident of the area, said she had observed how the monkeys would target humans with shopping bags, as they thought the bags contained food. I was horrified to hear that.

It would be especially dangerous for the elderly and young children to be subject to such snatch-attacks by the monkeys.

More should be done to control these monkeys. I do hope the authorities will take quick action.

Eunice Ong (Ms)