A sorry tail:

Monkey menace in Agra is increasing due to:

Devotees feeding monkeys due to religious sentiments

Monkeys in Agra and Mathura have become habituated to human feeding

Monkey numbers are increasing and reproduction is high due to abundance of food

Monkey bites and threat of rabies is becoming a serious concern

This having a very negative impact on tourism and public safety as well

AGRA: Terrifying as it sounds, the current population of monkeys in Agra, around 8,000, if allowed to grow unchecked, will cross 2.16 lakh within the next six years, with experts blaming easy availability of food, a soft corner among devotees and increased adaptability for this nightmare scenario.An NGO, Wildlife SOS, has collaborated with the district administration and the Agra Development Authority to vaccinate and sterilise monkeys in the city. So far, 317 monkeys have undergone the procedure. The situation, however, is fast slipping out of control.“Under the pilot project, 552 monkeys have been trapped and 317 sterilised. This has prevented the exponential growth of about 7,200 monkeys over the next 6 years. And if the same statistical calculation is applied on the basis of natural history, biological behaviour and reproduction pattern of rhesus macaques, Agra might have over 2.16 lakh of them by 2022,” said Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder of Wildlife SOS.Rhesus macaques breed constantly as there is no breeding season. Every female produces three babies in 18 months. “One can imagine the volume and the scale of the problem we are looking at,” Satyanarayan added.In March this year, the administration and the NGO launched the first ever monkey sterilization project. The target of more than 500 monkeys will be reached by the end of August, said Satyanarayan. The bigger worry is the reasons behind the rapid increase in population—abundant food in the form of trash and offerings from devotees of Hanuman.“People throw trash everywhere around Agra. Temples also generate a lot of food as trash, which in turn is dumped in the vicinity. On top of that is Agra’s poor garbage collection apparatus. These factors are not conducive for controlling animal population, particularly monkeys,” said the NGO’s co-founder.Satyanarayan added that there was a need to ramp up the intervention programme. “ADA and the district administration will review the results and the progress of this project will be measured in a scientific manner through feedback and analysis of complaints. Based on their reports, a decision will be taken to scale the project up to address the growing monkey menace in the city,” he said. The sterilization drive is modelled on a similar project by the Hong Kong municipal corporation.As reported by TOI earlier, monkeys in the urban parts of Agra have also been displaying changes in behavior, including diet and ability to negotiate the urban environement. A study by Dayalbagh Educational Institute recently found that the cognitive skills of urban monkeys had evolved to include activities like fruit peeling, nut breaking and rubbing toast on stone before eating them, besides playing with soft toys. Monkeys in the wild do not exhibit such behaviour, experts said.