Monkey intruders in Singapore: Here's how to stay one step ahead of them

CNA

20 hours ago

SINGAPORE: In Almond Estate, in the west of Singapore, wild thieves have stolen virtually everything under the sun, from medicine to cosmetics to vehicle parts.
Residents Pankaj Kumar and Alka Verma had the wing mirrors on their car stolen twice. That cost them between S$200 and S$300. It also happened to their neighbours and even a visitor.
'One day, a guest's car was just here, and … by the time I rushed to the car, both mirrors were gone,' recounted Verma.
The married couple now hand out mirror covers to their guests who park in the estate, which is made up of mainly landed homes.
Their household was one of five that reached out to the programme Talking Point after repeated monkey intrusions. 'You're looking at the monkeys, and they're on the top of the trees, laughing at you with the mirrors,' said Kumar.
'It's not only the case with us. Most of our neighbours have faced issues of monkeys taking away vitamins or cosmetics.'
Verma recalled a monkey swiping a computer mouse from her house. 'They're very aggressive,' she said.
Another resident, Robin Lo, said monkeys were even pulling windshield wipers off cars. Many households now keep their windows and doors closed for most of the day, according to Toh Ai Ling. 'We're imprisoned in our own homes.'
These residents are not alone in 'having to bear' with this monkey business.
Compared to a decade ago, the government logged a 35 per cent jump in monkey-related feedback to about 2,500 cases annually between 2017 and 2023. Many of the incidents, including intrusions, attacks and feeding issues, involved Singapore's native long-tailed macaques.
Talking Point finds out why these macaques are venturing into residential estates more than ever — where anything from snacks to shiny objects might be fair game for them — and what residents can do to stay one step ahead.
FOREST FORAGERS TURNED URBAN EXPLORERS
Long-tailed macaques are highly intelligent, social animals that forage in close-knit troops and are known to be territorial.
These omnivores eat just about everything, including insects, fruit, scraps and small animals. Adults, especially males, can inflict serious wounds with their sharp canines when provoked.
With urbanisation continuing to break up and shrink Singapore's remaining patches of forest, the monkeys' movements are increasingly bringing them into contact and, as likely as not, conflict with people.
'If you look at satellite imagery from just a decade ago, a lot of forests have been lost,' said Kalaivanan Balakrishnan, chief executive officer of the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES).
The monkeys have 'no choice but to pass by our urban areas', added ACRES senior wildlife coordinator Karina Lim.
And they have adapted to urban life. Besides scaling high-rise blocks to raid kitchens, they also target plastic bags, such as those used for food deliveries.
'Macaques have learnt that that's where the food will be,' said Lim, who handles an average of 23 monkey-related hotline calls a month. 'They've learnt how to open all these parcels … to see if they can find anything of value.'
Then there are people who feed monkeys, which conditions the animals to further associate humans with food. This, in turn, reduces their inclination to forage in the forest, according to the National Parks Board (NParks), which manages human-wildlife conflict.
Most of the feeders tend to be from the older generation, 'who may feel empathetic towards the animals', said Kalaivanan.
While ACRES has reached out to feeders, enforcement must also be stepped up, he urged. 'Generally, they'll be like, 'I don't care. I'm just going to continue feeding (monkeys).''
Human-monkey encounters were once common only near nature reserves and catchment areas, like in Bukit Timah and Upper Thomson. But the numbers are climbing island-wide now.
At the northeastern corner of Singapore, public safety concerns led the authorities to trap 50 monkeys in Punggol last year.
The majority were sterilised. But their relocation to Coney Island — where there is insufficient food for them, said Kalaivanan — has not proved successful. Instead, they keep returning to Punggol.
Andie Ang, who heads Mandai Nature's primate conservation and Singapore programmes, said there is no guarantee that measures such as relocation can work.
'The monkeys are going to a new environment where there could be other monkeys. … They might have fights,' she said. As for sterilisation, it would 'take a long time' to see its effect on the population.
Finally, culling, which is considered a last resort when monkeys are aggressive and unsuitable for relocation, could also backfire. Removing monkeys makes it easier for other competing monkeys to move into that territory later.
'Culling doesn't solve the problem,' said Ang. 'The residents might not be happy after a while, when they see that the monkeys are (still around).'
MANAGING MONKEY MISCHIEF
Since Singapore cannot be rid of monkeys, there are other efforts underway to keep them at bay, including steps that residents, too, can take.
When it comes to protecting your home from intrusions, the first thing is to keep food out of sight of the monkeys.
NParks has rolled out monkey-proof bins in some hotspots to minimise access to food outdoors. These are bins with weighted lids, which can also be opened by stepping on a pedal — and which are too heavy to open for macaques.
Those who own landed property can secure their own bins using bungee cords.
NParks officers also patrol the edges of forested areas, using tools such as laser pointers to startle the macaques and drive them back into their natural habitat.
But these creatures can 'get used to' these deterrents, said NParks' wildlife management and outreach director, Cyrena Lin. So the officers must vary their tactics.
To boost the monkeys' natural food sources and reduce their need to forage in residential areas, NParks has planted more fruit trees on Coney Island.
Then there are community-led efforts like the Monkey Guards programme run by the Jane Goodall Institute (Singapore). Besides educating people about macaques and the importance of not feeding them, its volunteers are trained to patrol residential areas and deter monkeys.
'We use tools, sticks or use (our) voice, our height, our size,' cited Monkey Guards programme lead Sabrina Jabbar, to 'push' the monkeys to other places, for example back into their forest.
For members of the public who encounter monkeys, there are warning signs if the animals feel threatened. They will bare their teeth, shriek or make what Jabbar calls 'fake lunges'.
'They'll run towards you, they'll stop right in front of your feet, … then they'll reverse,' she said. 'If you stand your ground, they'll notice that it's not working.'
She also recommends finding safety in numbers. 'Let's say you're walking on your own, you don't feel comfortable, and there are people around you, just join them,' she said. '(With) more people, the macaques will just move away.'