A push to resolve conflict between humans and wild monkeys

[Thaivisa News]

Phetchaburi: – The national and provincial authorities have launched a campaign, dubbedKhao Wang Model, designed for the coexistence between residents and wild monkeys.

MueangPhetchaburi residents have petitioned Office of the Ombudsman to intervene and address their grievances related to damage caused by wild monkeys.

The wild monkeys are from PhraNakhonKhiri Historical Park, known as Khao Wang, which is a major tourist attraction.

After a brain-storming session attended by representatives of the Ombudsman, the provincial government, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and the Zoological Park Organisation, the authorities agree to the followings:

• Promote the awareness campaign on coexistence with wildlife.

• Launch preventive measures on damage caused by monkeys.

• Implement monkey population control.

• Improve the natural habitat for monkeys to preempt foraging elsewhere.

Provincial official NatthawutPhetphromsorn said the authorities deem it impractical and inappropriate to relocate the monkeys that claim their habitat before human settlement due to town expansion.

Presently, Khao Wang is populated by more than 3,000 long-tailed Macaque.

The monkey population remains high despite the ongoing campaign for sterilisation launched since 2005.

Although the annual birth rate for monkeys has dropped from 28 per cent to 1.16 per cent, the numbers of wild monkeys do not significantly drop because tourists encourage migration by feeding them.

The authorities have called for a stop spoiling wild monkeys with food because this leads to aggressive behaviour to coerce humans to feed them.

Thailand has 147 areas located in 47 provinces which see the conflict between humans and wild monkeys.

[Chang_paarp]

Have they tried to negotiate with the monkeys? May be they need some "attitude adjustment".

[BKKdreaming]

this did not go well in Planet of the Apes

[Zonka]

Remind me, which group is are the monkeys?

[ezzra]

I think they should call Charles Darwin to help and media between the human and the apes,

after all he started it all didn't he?

[Manbing]

They did a study about modifying monkeys behaviours a while back. They gave the monkeys a choice between sweet food or bland food. The monkeys were praised for taking bland food and punished with a slapped bottom and being thrown out of the window for choosing the sweet food.

The monkeys understood the situation and learned to take the sweet food, slap their own bottom and jump out of the window.

This is a bit like Thaksin embezzeling money from the country and going on the run perhaps?

Edited February 19, 2015 by Manbing

[ABCer]

Apes and monkeys are not same-same.

Follow the recent American trend - inclusion is the key to minimizing the impact of monkeys on people and visa-versa.

Thai monkeys cannot be bad for Thais.

If you feed them well enough - they will be discouraged from foraging.

Time to think - "What did we do to make monkeys happier?"

[reggaebkk]

Difficult to judge this situation from a condo downtown. Anyone who lived near monkeys knows what hell they bring, constantly. thay are thieving vandals, very aggressive as well. Youd be better off with a rats invasion. Some spieces are simply not made to coexist.

[reggaebkk]

Apes and monkeys are not same-same.

Follow the recent American trend - inclusion is the key to minimizing the impact of monkeys on people and visa-versa.

Thai monkeys cannot be bad for Thais.

If you feed them well enough - they will be discouraged from foraging.

Time to think - "What did we do to make monkeys happier?"

If I was living in an area where monkeys start to settle, why would it be my responsibility to make them happy and feed them well? Or to pay taxes for that? I dont accept racketeering from humans, I wouldnt start with monkeys.

relocation to REAL and large reserves where tourism is completely banned and poaching REALLY prevented is the only sensible approach. Reserves where not even scientists and doctors try to play God in order to allow a natural echosystem do settle. It would be the cheapest and most effective solution, but ot is not in the modern human habits to find that giving up control is a solution to anything.

[toybits]

That really all depends on whether those are Yellow or Red Shirt Monkeys...

[A1Str8]

Humans haven't learned to coexist yet but they are focused on the monkeys.

Besides a push doesn't resolve. It pushes therefore it's inefficient.

[kieran2698]

Apes and monkeys are not same-same.

Follow the recent American trend - inclusion is the key to minimizing the impact of monkeys on people and visa-versa.

Thai monkeys cannot be bad for Thais.

If you feed them well enough - they will be discouraged from foraging.

Time to think - "What did we do to make monkeys happier?"

If I was living in an area where monkeys start to settle, why would it be my responsibility to make them happy and feed them well? Or to pay taxes for that? I dont accept racketeering from humans, I wouldnt start with monkeys.

relocation to REAL and large reserves where tourism is completely banned and poaching REALLY prevented is the only sensible approach. Reserves where not even scientists and doctors try to play God in order to allow a natural echosystem do settle. It would be the cheapest and most effective solution, but ot is not in the modern human habits to find that giving up control is a solution to anything.

Did you even read the article? It says that there are 3000 monkeys in this one town and that this is too many to relocate practically. It also states that the monkeys were there first, I don't know where you got this idea that the monkeys have moved into the area. It is obviously people encroaching on natural habitats not the other way around.

The idea of having reserves where not even scientists or doctors go is nothing but an ignorant fantasy. If such a place were to be set aside with such restrictions then you can be sure that without the officials taking care that it would be a paradise for poachers; left undisturbed to kill or capture all that they please. This approach of essentially doing nothing and letting nature take course is the most modern conservation technique and one which is increasingly practiced in the west. However this is still with the support of scientists, without which we would have no idea as to the success or failure of such projects.

[Nemesis7]

Time to call the UN peace keeping force and observers, to end this conflict.

[h90]

Time to call the UN peace keeping force and observers, to end this conflict.

better call Putin, he gets things done...

[connda]

Wild monkey population control: 22 rim fire.

[cup-O-coffee]

Judging by the way they handle the feral soi canines, I do not expect much but pockets to get lined.

[phoenixdoglover]

Obviously, the banana pledging scheme is rife with corruption.

The Thai Army needs to step in to prevent civil war and put an end to this monkey business.

[Paulc01]

Yet another topic about Chinese tourists.