Monkey business gets serious

A few days ago, a family found an abandoned monkey in Ashok Nagar. They kept the monkey locked in a cage. “On December 31, we got a call from someone saying that they have seen a family with a monkey as a pet. When we went to the spot two days later, we saw that the monkey was kept in a small cage in the scorching sun. It was not being given any food or water,” says G. Arun Prasanna, founder and secretary, People For Cattle in India (PFCI). Keeping monkeys as pets is illegal. 

However, this little monkey was abandoned during the flood. “The family that found it said that they wanted to help. Our volunteers had to talk to them and make them understand them it wasn’t legal. After much difficulty and formalities, the monkey was handed over to the wildlife authorities,” he says. In September last year, a monkey that bit 38 persons, after a four-day chase, was later rescued by forest department officials and volunteers. Around 120 monkeys have been rescued from areas like Alandur. Vysarpadi, Kelambakkam, Adyar, Chengelpet, Ashok Nagar, IIT and Anna University campus in the last one year. 

Many were rescued from Marina from gypsies. “The rescued monkeys are taken to the zoo. There are special enclosures for them in Guindy where they are treated and later rehabilitated by the forest department,” Arun adds. Forester A.C. Edison says that growing population is forcing human being to encroach on the animal’s habitat. “When monkeys come out for food, they come in contact with humans, who are willing to feed them because of the religious beliefs. For them, it is easier to find food near the human habitant and that’s where the problem begins,” he says.