Orissa government's move to trap temple monkey may hit roadblock

By Akshaya Kumar Sahoo



Bhubaneswar, Feb. 9: Orissa government's plan to trap and relocate the commensal monkeys of Lord Jagannath temple at Puri is likely to hit roadblocks as wildlife activists have started dubbing the move as "cruel" and "harmful" to the simian species.

In spite of their best efforts, the Mankadia tribals, who were engaged for trapping of monkeys, could manage to catch only eight of them.

"The state government is clueless about the entire trapping operation. Monkey catching and relocation is a scientific work and can only be done with proper technical advice and assistance from experts. It is unfortunate that no primate scientist or expert in wildlife relocation has been involved in this operation," Wildlife Orissa secretary Biswajit Mohanty said on Friday.

Urbanisation and monoculture of forest species had irreversibly affected their environment and hence there is a rise in the number of commensal monkeys in Orissa.

Since the species is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act - 1972, the state government is under obligation to ensure that these monkeys are not subjected to needless pain and suffering.

Wildlife experts say Makadia tribals do not have any scientific knowledge about monkey groups and social structure and they need to follow certain practices to ensure the safety of the monkey. "They are not bothered about monkey deaths as they normally kill the monkeys they catch for food. Ideally they should have been used along with some experts to carry out the exercise. It is wrong to permit them to do the work single handedly," Mr Mohanty argued.

He suggested that sterilisation could be a viable option since it would keep the population growth in check. Maintaining a predetermined number of male monkeys at a particular place can also be used as a means of sterilisation, Mr Mohanty pointed out.

Mr Mohanty has advised that a detailed study be conducted to identify the groups of monkeys present in the area.

"Monkeys live and feed in closed social groups and hierarchies. Any monkey cannot be caught at random. The entire group has to be trapped when the operation is done. Leaving out one or two individuals which are members of the groups will lead to unnecessary stress and even death for them because no other group will accept them," he said.

The Mankadias normally use nets and are not familiar with the use of traps. Instead of nets, bamboo or iron should be used to traps the monkeys. The size of traps should be appropriate and depend upon the size of the monkey group to be trapped, Ashok Baral, president of Association for Agricultural and Environmental Protection, said.