Forest officials rescued around 60 Bonnet Macaques (monkeys), a species of Macaque endemic to south India, in Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka, thanks to a mobile phone video. The monkeys, both adults and babies, were trapped in small cages and were not given food or water for about three days.
After being rescued in Kagalvadi village near Yelandur, forest officials released them in the forests surrounding Biligiriranga Hills, a tiger reserve in the district, on Saturday evening.
A resident of Kagalvadi village, Pramod Chakravathi was instrumental in the release of the monkeys, he was the one who took the video of the caged monkeys and shared it with forest officials. Speaking to news agencies, he said, “The condition of the monkeys was pathetic, they didn’t have any space to even breathe in the cage. In addition, they had gone for days without food or water.” He added that, “Had forest officials not acted in time, then, many of the monkeys would have died.”
The villagers of Kagalvadi had apparently engaged monkey catchers from Pandavapura of Mandya district for Rs 30,000 to catch the Bonnet Macaques, which they said were raiding crops and entering households.
News Source : Flipboard
