Passers-by looking warily at a long-tailed macaque at a pedestrian path in Taman Persekutuan Bukit Kiara.
AMONG primate habitat countries, Malaysia is one of only 22 identified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2008 as having more than 20 species.
This is according to a paper titled ‘Primate research and conservation in Malaysia’ by biological anthropologist and behavioural ecologist Dr Susan Lappan and primatologist Nadine Ruppert in 2018.
But as cities sprawl, encroaching on monkey habitats, these intelligent primates are coming into conflict with humans.
Monkeys have also become bolder in their search for handouts after some people, out of kindness or naivety, offered them food.
It was reported that from 2021 to 2024, the Kedah Wildlife and National Park Department (Perhilitan) addressed 18 complaints involving monkeys in Labu Besar, where 52 were removed through traps and culling.
A news portal also reported that numerous people from different villages in Kulim had complained of the increasing number of wild animals, including monkeys, damaging their crops.
Dr Vellayan says while monkeys are genetically programmed to forage for their own food, they also love what humans eat.
Former Zoo Negara assistant director Datuk Dr Vellayan Subramaniam said while monkeys are genetically programmed to forage for food, these creatures also love what humans eat.
“The food we give the monkeys is sweet and tasty,” Dr Vellayan told StarMetro.
These long-tailed macaques, he said, often litter the environment when they rummage through dustbins looking for food.
Different species of monkeys, for example leaf monkeys, only eat leaves, flowers and immature fruits.
Unlike the macaques, leaf monkeys are shy, forage for food on their own and don’t cause any harm.
“Long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques also eat ripe fruits,” he said.
In urban areas, macaques can also bite humans and steal their belongings.
When monkeys remain in the wild, they are used to eating plants of different varieties, whereas in urban areas the monkeys anticipate eating food that humans give them, including fast food, Dr Vellayan said.
“These animals feel happy in any park when people visit and throw bananas at them. The monkeys are just waiting to be fed,” he added.
Despite the big signboards put up in parks by Perhilitan discouraging people from feeding animals, it is still happening.
“Humans do not need to feed wildlife. However if we stop feeding them, they will return to their natural habitats, but there is also no more food for them because of overdevelopment,” he said. — By AIDA AHMAD
