Forests are natural habitat to many types of animals. Trees are their habitat, their environment, their source of food and their protection from enemies. That is why where there is deforestation; many animals are left without shelter. This then means that they have to find somewhere else to live.
Recently monkeys came out of the trees en masse. A flock of monkeys was observed in few areas of the city. City dwellers sometimes enjoy their antics, but having the animals around is not all fun. They raid agricultural fields. They beg for food, and they’ll steal it if given half a chance. They hassle passersby.
Excessive human intervention in the forests has led to depletion of green cover in many areas. Illegal encroachment of forest lands for housing and agricultural purposes, extensive cutting of forest trees and plantation of exotic tree species in place of natural food plants forced monkeys to invade the city which provided a wide range of food for them.
The improper disposal of wastes also account for the prevailing human-monkey conflict in the study area. Careless dumping of kitchen wastes and garbage in the open areas provides easy food for the monkeys, which results in their frequent visits to the urban areas.
Forestland will continue to be turned into human habitat, and monkeys will have nowhere to go but into the cities. Once habituated to living among people, with the possibility of a food supply and the lack of primary predators in the urban environment, monkeys will continue to increase in number and to be difficult to dislodge.
