Have you ever experienced the duality of long-tailed macaques? They can be either cute or aggressive. You are lucky if you encounter the cute ones. But what if the aggressive ones are hot on your trail? What should you do then?

Photo 1: Long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) are native to Singapore and are listed as “vulnerable” under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List (Photo credit: verdantwinds, licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0).

 

My most recent encounter with them was in the Singapore Botanic Gardens (SBG). My classmates and I were there for our GE4224 Applied Biogeography field trip. We saw the park employee attempting to shoo the monkeys away using a bamboo pole. From our conversations, I understood that SBG employees will intentionally try to scare monkeys back to the forest they originally came from to prevent human-macaque conflicts.

Photo 2: An SBG docent on stand-by with her bamboo pole to keep the long-tailed macaques at bay. The macaques are on the other side of the fence.

 

SBG was naturally forested before it was established as a garden to cultivate economic plants in the 1800s. Naturally, trees had to be cut down to make way for the agricultural crops, mainly rubber trees. Consequently, terrestrial wildlife lost their habitat – primary tropical lowland rainforests. The multi-layered tropical forest structure and uniquely adapted plant species made it possible for the forests to support a high diversity of plants. High plant diversity meant more food for animals which in turn boosted fauna diversity. Thankfully, SBG has attempted to restore forests in SBG in the 21st century. Macaques have a home now! However, that is not stopping them from interacting with visitors.

 

SBG features such as picnic spots and cement trails that weave through the gardens enable visitors to come into close contact with wildlife, especially the macaques which are enticed by human food and belongings. While they can be aggressive in getting food or protecting their young, we need to acknowledge that our presence also threatens their safety.

Photo 3: A baby macaque examining a broken glass bottle on a SBG walkway (Photo credit: Mak Wei Jie Alvern, from GE4224 AY21/22 Semester 2).

 

Since SBG now supports education, research and recreation purposes, it is impossible to completely halt human-macaque encounters. There are, however, steps we can take to reduce human-macaque conflict. My suggestions to SBG park managers includes limiting food and beverage consumption to designated areas such as restaurants and restricting public access to places where macaques are commonly sighted. Visitors also need to keep a good distance in restricted areas to lower the chances of monkeys crossing into locations with high human traffic.

 

As individuals, we can also play a part in protecting ourselves and our fellow monkeys. Firstly, always adhere to the advice on signages. They exist for a reason. Now, what do to if you encounter macaques? Based on personal experience, I advise against throwing items or attempting to scare them away, because they might think you are offering food or trying to get into a fight with them. Instead, you should stay calm and walk away from the monkeys as fast as possible.

Photo 4: Signages in SBG that warn visitors about the dos and don’ts when encountering wildlife.

 

Now you know what to do, co-existing with them should not be too hard. Good luck!

 

Written by Rachel Pek Xin Yi