Saturday, June 14, 2008

Jungle clearing driving ’em out

Saturday June 14, 2008
Staronline
By RASLAN BAHAROM

RAMPANT jungle clearing activities and shortage of fruits in the jungle are forcing wild monkeys into Taiping town to scavenge for food.

Residents in the Larut Matang and Selama district said garbage bins in the town area seemed to be the monkeys’ favourite haunt.

At a dialogue called by Taiping MP Nga Kor Ming, residents urged the authorities to look into the clearing activities at the jungle fringes to check the menace.

“Wild monkeys are not only endangering the safety of pedestrians and children but are also trespassing into kitchens to steal what-ever food available,” said a resident.

Kuala Sepetang assemblyman Tai Sing Ng said an operation would be mounted soon to rid the town of wild monkeys following complaints over their growing population.

Tai urged those facing the problem to get in touch with their respective village heads.

“The village chief must report the presence of the monkeys so that an operation can be launched in the affected location,” he said.

Meanwhile, checks at the foot of Bukit Larut in Taiping showed the monkeys being fed with titbits by visitors.

Taiping zoo director Dr Kevin Lazarus advised visitors to stop feeding the monkeys as the act would make them dependent on human beings for survival.

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