Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary (Delhi/ Haryana)
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Monkeys
Jan 05 2015
Asola monkeys must be weaned off feed: Experts
The forest department in Delhi spends most of its funds not on protecting endangered species or on reviving the leopard populationbut on feeding monkeys. It's a perplexing problem, but, following a high court order, the department sends 2,500kg of fruits and vegetables to feed over 18,000 monkeys every day which were moved from the city to Asola Bhatti sanctuary in 2007. The department reportedly stopped feeding monkeys in the wildlife sanctuary for a few days when prices of vegetables and fruits went up but what ensued was more baffling. Many animal lovers claimed monkeys were starving to death. In fear of retaliation, the department resumed feeding them.
But primatologists and wildlife experts say monkeys are too smart to starve. They are extremely adaptable mammals who will leave the sanctuary to forage in neighboring villages or just come back to the city. All the department needs to do is to plant the species that monkeys love and stop feeding them.
“The department should have prepared the sanctuary before releasing monkeys in it. I had given them a list of species, including bansa, gram, banana and sugarcane, but those were not planted. I have seen how much food the department is just wasting on the pretext of feeding mon keys,“ said Iqbal Malik, a veteran primatologist.
Even forest officials jest that the wildlife sanctuary is gradually turning into a Rhesus monkey sanctuary .“There are 18,000 of them. It's not possible to care for so many and they are multiplying exponentially . Sterilization is not being considered because animal rights activists will protest. We have no option but to feed them. None of them are starving. In fact, the problem is that the place has lost its ecological balance. We don't have many predators feeding on monkeys. On the other hand, the carrying capacity of our sanctuary is not suited for such a large monkey population,“ said a senior official. The lieutenant governor recently ordered a probe into whether monkeys were starving in the sanctuary .
CR Babu, DU professor emeritus and chairman of a state-level experts appraisal committee, is also of the view that monkeys should be gradually weaned off the habit of being fed. “There are people who believe feeding birds, monkeys and other animals is a great service. But we are destroying their natural immunity and survival skills. They should forage on their own.That can be done by planting the species they feed on. Why is Pongemia and neem being planted by the department when animals don't eat them?” he said.
Experts say the department can turn the situation around in five years--if they slowly stop food supply and plant the right species.
