Animal cruelty is one of the most despicable failings of the human race and the horrific poisoning of three monkeys (although I assume the entire troop was being targeted) in Salt Rock on Sunday was truly sickening.
Especially because the poison used is said to cause terrible suffering.
If you are going to kill an animal at least have the decency to make it quick (to clarify I am not promoting the killing of monkeys but speaking about animals in general i.e if it made its way to your plate it had to be killed and that should be done as humanely as possible).
We have a troop that pass through our garden every day and my three-year-old still thinks its the most exciting thing out there (in fact his first full sentence when he started talking was “monkeys eat pawpaws!”).
I am less inclined to be excited because they try to time their visit with my ten-monthold’s naps. . . and Maximus barks like a dog possessed until they leave.
But hey it keeps Daniël mesmerized for a good 20 minutes (with him mimicking Max’s bark to boot) and they really are sweet to watch as they forage, groom one another and even throw branches at the dogs for their own amusement.
It may shock you to hear me say this but personally I think people who feed monkeys are as wrong as those who would kill them. Why? Here’s what the experts tell us.
An internet search quickly revealed that many countries have actually banned the feeding of wild monkeys completely, and for good reasons. Numerous travel websites around the world urge visitors to please stop feeding their monkeys because, quite frankly, “you are killing them with kindness”.
This is true for many different types of monkeys and I believe it is just as true for our vervets here in KZN. All research published on the subject that I could find also came to the same conclusion, feeding monkeys endangers their health.
One study on Barbary macaques in Morocco found that tourists who fed them were risking the health of this endangered species by making them larger, more susceptible to disease, and more stressed.
Another study in India found that feeding monkeys influenced their behavior dramatically: they stopped foraging for their own food and lost their natural fear of humans, seeking them out for food and becoming aggressive when it was not forthcoming. The same was true in Singapore and Costa Rica. A rescue center and animal rehabilitation program for California for the titi or “squirrel monkeys” has a blog entitled ‘Kids Saving the Rainforest’ and they posted a particularly good article on the subject with 11 reasons why feeding monkeys is actually harming them.
Here are the six I found the most insightful:
1. Monkeys are highly susceptible to diseases from human hands. They can die from bacteria transferred off your hand that has no ill effect on you. 2. Irregular feeding leads to an aggressive behavior towards humans and other species.
3. Contrary to the stereotype, bananas are not the preferred food of monkeys in the wild. Bananas, especially those containing pesticides, can be upsetting to the monkeys’ delicate digestive system and cause serious dental problems that can lead to eventual death.
4. Feeding creates a dangerous dependency on humans that diminishes the monkeys’ survival abilities.
5. Feeding interferes with the monkeys’ natural habits and upsets the balance of their lifestyle centered on eating wild fruits, seeds, small animals, and insects.
6. Monkeys need to travel an average of 17 kilometers each day to be in good physical condition. If they know that food is available in a particular location, they will not leave that area. The centre went as far as threatening to publish the names of anyone caught feeding monkeys in their local media.
While this isn’t something we could do (because feeding monkeys is not illegal here) I wish we could because perhaps then people would realise the seriousness of the matter.
Locally this is becoming more and more of a problem and the resulting tension between people and primates is surely not good for either party.
An example of this is Sheffield resident Rudi van Rensburg who commented on the Courier Facebook page saying that his neighbours on either side are feeding the vervets by hand every single day. He says he cannot risk walking in the road near his home because the monkeys attack, probably looking for food.
His situation is not unique. I hear it all too often across the Dolphin Coast with neighbours differing on this issue and both people and monkeys suffer as a result. A wonderful alternative is to plant fruit trees and I think this is a perfect solution, especially for those people who are sincerely worried about the little tykes getting hungry.
So please, don’t be part of the problem and plant a fruit tree instead.
