New Delhi: In a move that seriously compromises an ambitious conservation programme, the Madhya Pradesh forest department, over a period of 2 days (18 and 19 June 2004 ) released 250 “feral” rhesus macaques in the Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary. The bureaucratic red tape to translocate 250 monkeys trapped in Delhi has at last been breasted by the Dept. of Forests and Wildlife but the translocation poses serious threats in the absence of any pre-release assessments. The decision to translocate the monkeys trapped from central Delhi to Kuno follows a grant of Rs 1.6 lakh from the government of MP, that took over 9 months to materialize, during which most of the trapped monkeys suffered injuries or infections.

After spending 9 lakhs on the upkeep of 250 monkeys in the Rajokri forest, the Dept. of Forests and Wildlife got the amount of 1.6 lakhs sanctioned to translocate these simians to the Kuno WLS in Madhya Pradesh. The Kuno sanctuary is the proposed site for reintroduction of the Asiatic Lion and the MP forest department, supported by the MoEF, has been taking a number of steps to prepare the sanctuary for receiving lions to be translocated from the State of Gujarat . The “prompt” approval by the finance dept of the state government of MP came through after nine months during which over 200 monkeys were housed in a 12X 12 X 30 feet enclosure in Rajokri.

A majority of these monkeys were trapped last year in September, from Raisina Hill, the seat of power of the Indian government. Although monkeys are seen all over residential colonies in Delhi , most of the trapping was done on Raisina Hill because of VIP movement. The trapped monkeys were kept in an enclosure that provided just about 17 sq. ft of space per monkey.

Although the recommended period for pre-release quarantine is 20 days, these monkeys had to spend more than 9 months in captivity in close contact with each other. However, the keeper said that a doctor had come two months ago and vaccinated each animal individually. Most of the monkeys now suffer from fungal infection and other serious skin diseases. Many of them are even showing symptoms of tuberculosis.

When Bahar Dutt from Wildlife Trust of India visited the Rajokri site, she was appalled to see that a large number of the monkeys were not fit to be released. “Almost 10% of the monkeys had suffered injuries due to infighting and being housed so close to each other for such a long duration. A further 10% were emaciated and weak, and needed clinical examination by a veterinarian,” she reported. All the male monkeys looked very weak after they were reportedly castrated.

Two hundred monkeys, piled in trucks were ferried from Rajokri in Delhi to the forests of Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh (MP). Most of these simians were in no shape to travel or be released into the wild. The release of these monkeys into the forest poses serious threats. Technically, monkeys have to be trapped and released as a family. This fact seems to be overlooked while trapping monkeys at random from Raisina Hill.

According Arpan Sharma of the Samrakshan Trust: “these are feral animals whose long past history over several generations is one of ‘behavioural adaptation’ to a hostile metropolitan ambience of a city like Delhi . Desperate aggression with very low fear of humans and scavenging at urban garbage dumps (potential source for contagious infections) are the two typical acquired behavioural traits. It would be very difficult for these animals to adapt to the natural semi-arid Kuno habitat, which has a prolonged ‘pinch period’ with respect to both forage and water of over four months in the late dry season. They shall also have to find social and survival space in an otherwise harsh habitat already having its complement of population of primates. This is also about the worst period in the year to release any herbivorous animal into the wild in an area characterised by a fixed-period monsoon climate. Availability of resources is at its lowest at this severest segment of a ‘drastic pinch period’, which an arid area like Kuno has to face.”

The Samrakshan Trust has for the past six years been working with communities living on the periphery of Kuno sanctuary and aiding the relocation process. It has been understood that monkeys straying from forests into the villages in the region have already become a problem for the villagers. Sharma said, “the addition of such a large number and that too of ‘urban-feral’ monkeys can severely jack up the gravity of the problem. Since streams and rivers originating from Kuno have downstream habitations outside the Sanctuary, migration of these monkeys along their valleys into nearby villages is sure to occur sooner than later. It does not appear that any serious thought has been given to such pros and cons of a major ‘population management’ activity that this operation indeed is bound to become, if allowed to go ahead. It is more likely to result in ‘transfer of the problem from one area to another with even a lesser capacity to handle it’. If as is quite likely these animals move to the Agra area where most of the villages relocated from the Kuno have been rehabilitated, it is bound to raise severe local hue and cry and undermine any serious conservation effort in the sanctuary.”

Dr NVK Ashraf of WTI expressed grave concern over releasing the translocated monkeys. “Each species kept in captivity has to be released according to a strict protocol. There is a whole list of procedures to be followed before the release and monkeys are the most difficult animals to release after captivity. The main area of concern is their tremendous capacity to carry diseases and infect other animals”, said Dr Ashraf. Monkeys are proven carriers of tuberculosis and hepatitis B and C. Prior to its release, each monkey should undergo a thorough examination to ensure that it is healthy. At times, an animal can be a carrier of a disease although it may not display any symptoms of the disease. While injured monkeys are at risk inviting predators, it is the monkeys carrying viruses that pose a great danger to other wildlife in an already fragile ecosystem.

Detailed guidelines have been worked out and published by the IUCN for such ‘reintroduction’ and have found wide acceptance in India as many Indian scientists and wildlife managers have contributed to their development. These require a prior and stringent health check of each individual animal, especially if drawn from a feral stock. A host of other prescriptions cover habitat assessment and processes and operational techniques to be used in ‘capture, transport, release and follow up monitoring.

This recent move is likely to severely jeopardise the lion reintroduction programme, as the urban monkeys at large are feared to introduce and spread disease among wildlife.