EDITOR – Monkeys still come through the door pet flap, despite my dog and I still being inside the house, to make a big mess, eat and destroy on their way.
About 10 years ago, the troops were eight times smaller and they only passed through the complex two to three times a month.
It was painful to see them destroy our gardens and flowers, even coming inside. But now their behaviour is more aggressive and they are not even scared if I shoot at them with a paintball gun. The sound is even louder when I have no paintballs. They just hide behind the trees.
Steven of Monkey Helpline said shooting them with a paintball gun is like clapping your hands, which won’t help.
I called Steven, asking if they could try and control the fast growth of the troops. He said they cannot control the growth of the monkey population, and suggested I should buy a good water gun or spray them with the hosepipe. I tried that, but even the water hose can’t reach so high in the trees.
Three came through the door pet flap other day and wrecked my kitchen while I was watching TV. Steven said I must put a picture of a lion above the door flap, where the dog can go outside, because they are not scared of the rubber snakes like years ago anymore.
On Sunday I shot out about R60 worth of paintballs, but they stayed there the whole day, hiding behind trees and coming out into my garden when I went inside the house.
I am against hurting animals, but please dart and sterilise them, so that their population can diminish. The one big male tried to attack my dog and when I wanted to pick up my dog and run to the house, he tried to attack me. I had to face him the whole time while I walked backwards to go inside the house. Does something bad first have to happen before the Monkey Helpline looks at this problem from both sides and does something to help us too?
ELEANOR PIERRUS
Dwindling monkeys need to be protected
EDITOR – Thank you for this opportunity to comment on the letter you received from Eleanor Pierrus.
It is most unfortunate that many of the people who complain about the presence of vervet monkeys around their homes are hugely ignorant about who monkeys are, why they are here, what their behaviour means, and what one should or shouldn’t do when monkeys are around.
And these people, like Ms Pierrus, are influenced in their negative attitude towards the monkeys by the misconception that monkeys are breeding out of control and that this so-called ‘increase’ in the number of monkeys then leads to an invasion of gardens and homes, and the accompanying destruction of property.
In fact, tens of thousands of families in KZN live with the presence of monkeys around their homes every day. They do not resent the presence of these monkeys, and many are fascinated and entertained by the monkeys as they forage for food, play together or simply just get on with trying to survive in this increasingly monkey-unfriendly world. And none get randomly attacked and bitten. In the very few incidents of someone getting bitten by a free-ranging monkey, there have undoubtedly been aggravating circumstances which led to the incident.
Contrary to Ms Pierrus’ assertion that 10 years ago monkey troops “were eight times smaller” than they are now, the size of monkey troops in all the areas of KZN where Monkey Helpline daily carries out rescue or educational work is decreasing from one year to the next.
This observation is shared with us spontaneously by many people we encounter during rescues and talks, and even by people who randomly approach and ask if we have noticed a decrease in monkeys’ numbers.
REDUCE
Sterilising monkeys to reduce their numbers, as suggested by Ms Pierrus, is both impractical and unnecessary.
Monkeys are killed every day by, among others, dogs, cars on roads, being shot with firearms and air guns.
They are also electrocuted on high voltage powerlines, trapped or snared, and also die from natural causes, at a far greater rate than they are able to reproduce. So, rather than reduce their numbers, we should put in much more effort to protect them in order to ensure that they do not become extinct in our urban and other developed areas. I suggest Ms Pierrus put away her paintball gun and rather make use of the information on our website, www.monkeyhelpline.co.za, where she would learn that she has no reason to fear the monkeys.
Among many other things, she would also learn that the correct use of water, as I advised when we had our phone conversation, would ensure that the monkeys stay away from those areas of her garden and home where they are not welcome, and that her dog was not at risk of being attacked by the ‘big male’ monkey, who was most likely merely using defensive aggression posturing to intimidate the dog into not attacking him or any of the other monkeys present.
If Ms Pierrus, or anyone else, needs humane and practical assistance in dealing with monkeys, she simply has to contact us or use the information on the internet.
Monkey Helpline can be reached on 082-659-4711 or 082-411-5444 or e-mail info@monkeyhelpline.co.za or on Facebook at Monkey Helpline.
STEVE SMIT
Monkey Helpline Founder, Educator and Rescuer
