WHO IS CAUSING THE NUISANCE?
Macaques drawn to food left behind by visitors to Taiping Zoo
WILD monkeys are giving visitors and those working around Taiping Zoo a hard time.
Troops of wild monkeys which converge looking for food especially in the afternoons and evenings, have become a feature at the zoo surroundings.
The macaques can be seen roaming the zoo car park and invading rubbish bins.
The problem has worsened due to the irresponsible behaviour of some visitors who indiscriminately leave their food waste and leftover drinks all over the place.
A restaurant worker, Shafiq Shazwan, 21, said the wild monkeys had started to grab plastic bags from visitors thinking that there’s food in the bags.
Another worker, Nurul Asyura Jaharin, 18, said she had a bad experience when an adult monkey encroached on her workplace and refused to leave.
“I was lucky as one of the visitors helped me to chase the wild monkey as it started to get aggressive,” she said, adding the wild monkeys like to chase people who carry plastic bags.
A frequent visitor to the zoo, Mohd Hidayat Azizan, 32, from Bercham said the number of wild monkeys seemed to have decreased compared with several months ago.
“I’ve seen the wild monkeys invading other animals’ cages in the zoo,” he said, adding that the authorities should do something about the problem.
Checks at the zoo yesterday showed that there were about 20 to 30 wild monkeys loitering in the zoo car park area.
Discarded plastic bags were scattered in the area after being rummaged by the wild monkeys.
A zoo worker who refused to be named said the animals came from Bukit Larut and they would go to the zoo in the mornings to find food.
“They are usually active in the afternoons since they know that there will be a lot of food here. Sometimes, the presence of visitors attracts them, since some of them will throw food waste, drinks and diapers in the parking area,” he said.
Taiping Zoo director Dr Kevin Lazarus said there were more than 20 special dustbins provided at the zoo, which were designed to prevent monkeys from reaching for food.
“We are planning to change existing dustbins to special ones but they are too expensive as each costs about RM1,000. The process will be done in stages. We need almost 60 special dustbins for the whole zoo,” he said.
He said the zoo had banned the used of polystyrene since 2013 but there were visitors who brought in outside food and left the food waste in the zoo after visiting the premises.
“Taiping Zoo has provided a number of dustbins outside the zoo. Lack of awareness on how to dispose of trash properly among visitors is one of the factors that contributes to this problem. The visitors even leave their food waste on benches.
“The Taiping Municipal Council and the Taiping Zoo are working to find the best way to encourage visitors to embrace ‘The Take Your Litter Home’ culture through educational campaigns.”
He called on the public to be more responsible by maintaining cleanliness and not to leave their rubbish at the zoo.