Immediate action must on monkeys in residential areas

The monkeys inside a house. Pic/Rajesh Gupta

This is monkeying around but the phrase is not innocuous for residents of a central suburb. This paper had carried an in-depth report on monkey menace in a residential enclave in the central suburbs. Monkeys were entering homes and ransacking them. A teenage girl suffered a monkey bite. There was a sense of fear through the area, as monkeys were running riot, jumping from home to home, scaring children and bringing residents to the edge as they always had to be wary with the simians around.

Most residents were completely frustrated and enervated as monkeys mean they are constantly looking over their shoulder, should the animals suddenly jump out and snatch away bags, grocery bags or any food as is their wont.

Of late we have seen the simian menace in certain parts of the city. Some time ago, this paper carried an extensive report on monkeys at a Worli society. The apes used to enter homes through windows, terrifying residents. They had ransacked kitchens, tossed things out of a home, thrown other items and even entered lifts. They were finally caught by some experts the society had called in and the terror vanished but not before monkey vandalism had literally brought the society to its knees.

Forest officials say people need to stop feeding monkeys or even instigating and fighting with these animals. Whatever be the scenario, we must see a concerted effort to get these dangerous animals caught and out of residential societies. This is not a flippant and laughing matter. The fact that a girl was bitten by a monkey shows how disturbing this is. The fear also plays on the mental health of those living in the vicinity. The government needs to respond to requests for help and experts must both talk to residents and have a solution to this growing monkey malaise.