Morningside resident makes monkeys her business

WHILE many regard them as a nuisance, Morningside’s Laura Wright believes Vervet Monkeys are intelligent, human-like animals that people need to tolerate and learn to live with.

For the past five years Wright has been caring for and feeding close to 140 monkeys across the Berea area and says she understands that people don’t want them coming into their homes, but says they should be tolerant towards them.

“I get shouted at when I feed them, but I have come to understand that it is because people lack the information. I have a total of six troops, which brings it 140 monkeys that I care for. The one troop I have known for five years. The development that is happening here affects them greatly because most of the trees that they regard as their homes are destroyed. For the females it is even harder, because they never leave the area they are born into. People think that they come from other areas, but they have been here for many years before us.Unlike humans, they have nowhere to go. It’s all those things that make me want to take care of them,” said Wright.

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Ecoman (consultant ecosystems manager) from Mount Moreland Michael Hickman said Vervet monkeys were causing an environmental disaster which authorities were ignoring.

“Everyone is scared of talking about monkeys, but this is a topic that has to be addressed. Within the Ethekwini metro, their numbers have increased to alarming proportions over the last ten years, which is causing a tremendous environmental problem that the authorities do not want to address because of the highly emotive group of people who, I believe, are to a large degree responsible for the bad situation the monkeys now find themselves in. You cannot feed monkeys and get them used to humans and expect them not to pester other humans for food too. Monkey see, monkey do.”

Despite this assertion by Hickman, Wright believes that feeding the monkeys keeps them from foraging and raiding people’s homes.

Experts also believe that Vervet monkeys are generalist feeders that have adapted to urban environments, which means raiding often becomes a common foraging strategy.

Therefore, Vervet monkey density, in conjunction with the variation in seasonal food availability, and decreasing diversity in urban predators, may lead to urban bird eggs being sought out as a high protein food source.

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“When they come in your house and leave it in a mess its not intentional, its because they are hungry. Contrary to what people say, the monkey population has been declining and they don’t have rabies. I don’t expect anyone to be like me, just to be tolerant,there’s no reason to be horrible to them,” she said.

Wright’s day starts at 4:30 in the morning, as she prepares breakfast for the troop that has turned her garden into their home and at 6:30 she makes her way to town to drop off food at a couple of food stations and do some kind of head count.

“Four hours a day are spent on caring, preparing or tending to any business related to monkeys. I spoil them, sometimes I bake them banana crunchies. I make sacrifices to do it. I have made it my responsibility. It would be ideal if we had food stations, however I think that would create tension among the troops because they are very territorial. Instead of moaning and hurting them,there is a lot we can do, maybe try keep greenery and preserve it the way it is. We are lucky to have wild animals we should be happy to have them,” Wright added.

Anyone who would like to offer help can contact Laura on 073 216 7901.