Controlling Monkey Menace
K K Sharma
Over the past few decades there has been a steady and steep increase in the population of Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) commonly known as monkey. The population of monkeys has grown at an alarming rate during the last decade. According to the last count there were 50 million monkeys in India which has resulted in their migration from the forest areas towards towns and cities and also to the cultivated areas. There is no centralised data bank on monkey raids in the country. According to the official and media reports, 20 States/UTs have reported significant crop damages due to monkey attacks. In 2018, about 250 villages in Jammu reported loss of farm produce worth Rs. 33 crore because of invasion by wild monkeys.