Unfortunately, one of the Hindhede monkeys became another sad statistic last night after getting run over by a car. Dora was Camille's youngest daughter, and was very fun and vivacious. I named her Dora because she was always exploring ("Dora the Explorer
") and wandering, sometimes causing Camille to yank her back by her tail. Her adventuresome nature may be part of the reason that she got hit by a car, but I suspect that the individual who hit her was probably driving too fast. Camille has long been one of my favorite monkeys, so naturally her daughter had a special place in my heart. Today, Camille looked everywhere, as though she might be able to find Dora if she looked hard enough. She kept making a very sad honking sound, known as a "distress coo." It was difficult to watch her go through such a hard time. Below is Dora off on her own, and below that is Camille with Dora shortly after Dora was born.
I'm on Hindhede Road frequently and people drive like maniacs around there. They speed up and down the road, into and out of the reserve, disregarding the fact that there are monkeys as well as human children playing on the street frequently. It's incredibly frustrating to watch people drive like this, and I always feel an overwhelming urge to throw rocks at people driving too fast on that road, but I control myself. It would be very unSingaporean to flip my lid and start chucking debris at passersby. I do wish that there were more speed bumps on the road. Even the ones that are there are very small and do little to slow people down.So it was a sad day at Bukit Timah. And I know that I just posted a total downer about the dog attacks, so I'll try to post some more upbeat monkey stuff soon.
It's sad but because of the frequent human interaction, these macaques also take things for granted. I recall driving along Upper Seletar once, and an alpha male was in the middle of the road. Even as I was approaching it, he refused to move, forcing me to stop. Only after giving it a loud honk did it grudgingly move aside.
ReplyDeleteFor a driver who is unaware that a monkey would still sit in the middle of the road (rather than running away) even in the face of an approaching car, the poor macaque would have been flattened!
But it seems to me that people should always slow down for animals in the road...you shouldn't just go charging toward an animal, counting on it to move. You wouldn't do that to a person, and people are (ostensibly) smarter than monkeys!
ReplyDeleteTrue, but talk a walk down Orchard Road, and watch how many Singaporean drivers drive (especially towards the jaywalkers) and you will know what I mean. :)
ReplyDeleteSad to hear of this.I would like to share on another issue about monkeys in BTNR,imminent problems are brewing for both monkeys and humans.There is this new residential unit under construction at the foothill deep into the forest,next to the kampong trail.I was walking on the Kampong trail one day,and I saw the macaques happily exploring the building under construction.I dread to think what will happen when the residents moved in,they will be having a hard time with creepy crawlies,bats,monkeys etc,seeking shelter and food in their home!hopefully they are rational enough to realize that wildlife are part of mother nature,and that we are the one who encroach into their territory,instead of the other way round!I've seen on tv,how monkeys in India wreak havoc in people's home,it's definitely not something we want to go through.It's a bad idea to have residential units built so close to a ecologically-sensitive area like BTNR,but since what's done cannot be undone,I guess Nparks will have to be prepared for complains or request for culling(OMG!)when conflicts between human and wildlife occur.
ReplyDeleteAK- Yes, the development of Mont Timah is certainly not good for the monkeys. The monkeys that will suffer the most are the Hindhede monkeys, the group that I do research with. That development is going up smack in the middle of their territory. NParks already receives a lot of complaints about the Hindhede monkeys from residents of Raintree, Angsana, and other places in the area. The problem is about to get much, much worse. I wish there was more that could be done to create a buffer zone around reserves, but that doesn't seem to be a priority for anyone except NParks, and it's my understanding that their authority doesn't really extend beyond the boundaries of the reserve.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I actually think that, compared to monkeys in other cities, these monkeys are relatively well-behaved. Attacks on humans are very infrequent, and typically only occur when people carry food in close proximity to the monkeys. Even then, all the monkeys go for is the food- they don't have any interest in fighting people for no reason- it's very dangerous for them too. However, having people living IN the monkeys' territory is a sure way to make things worse, and ultimately the monkeys will pay the price.
I just don't understand people that move in RIGHT NEXT to a reserve and them complain about wildlife. Why don't they just go live in a more urban area?
oh,so you are a researcher.What area you do research on?behaviour ,diet,eco-impact etc.Hope you can share some of your findings on the blog.I have begun my volunteer work with CCR,so I will be visiting BTNR more often from now.
ReplyDeleteI do research mostly on behavior. I started back in August- it's been really interesting getting to know one group of monkeys really well!
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