Context: The death of a 63-year-old woman in Shimla following an attack by rhesus macaques has renewed concerns over human-wildlife conflict.
- She was attacked by a group of monkeys on the roof of her house on August 30, suffered serious injuries including spinal damage, and died on September 5.
- The incident has also highlighted the consequences of changes in the legal status of rhesus macaques and the resulting ambiguity over responsibility for managing urban monkey populations.
Change in Legal Status After 2022
- Under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, rhesus macaques were earlier protected under Part I of Schedule II.
- The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022 removed rhesus macaques from this protection category.
- Following the change, Himachal Pradesh officials have indicated that managing urban monkey populations increasingly falls within the domain of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) rather than solely the Forest Department.
- However, forest officials continue to provide assistance in capturing and sterilising monkeys, particularly in areas near forests.
Declining Monkey Population in Himachal Pradesh
- Official estimates show that Himachal Pradesh's rhesus macaque population declined from 3,17,512 in 2004 to 2,26,086 in 2013 and 1,36,443 in 2019–20.
- The State Forest Department attributes a substantial part of this decline to sustained sterilisation programmes.
- Since 2006, approximately 1,86,448 monkeys had been sterilised by March 2024.
Why Does the Monkey Menace Persist?
Urbanisation and Human Feeding
- Expansion of urban settlements into wildlife habitats increases human–monkey interactions.
- Public feeding provides easily accessible food, encouraging monkeys to move out of forests and become dependent on anthropogenic food sources.
- Such habituation can increase encounters and the possibility of aggressive behaviour.
Capacity Constraints of Urban Local Bodies
- ULBs often lack adequate funding, trained personnel and technical expertise to capture and sterilise monkeys safely.
- Shimla Municipal Corporation is training personnel for monkey capture but continues to seek assistance from the Forest Department when required.
- Forest officials undertake interventions particularly around forest areas, with ULBs paying approximately ₹700 per monkey for sterilisation.
Scale of the Problem in Shimla
- Shimla records approximately 50–55 cases of monkey attacks every month, according to municipal officials.
- The frequency demonstrates that the issue extends beyond isolated incidents and represents a continuing urban wildlife-management challenge.
Conservation vs Human Safety
- The change in legal status has generated a debate over whether rhesus macaques should primarily be managed as wildlife requiring conservation or as animals creating a significant public nuisance.
- Rhesus macaques remain ecologically important, making population management more complex than simply removing animals from urban areas.
- At the same time, increasing human–animal encounters require measures that protect human safety without encouraging indiscriminate killing or unscientific population control.
Compensation Challenge
- Changes in legal status have also affected access to wildlife-related compensation.
- Under Himachal Pradesh's existing compensation policy cited by officials:
- Severe injuries: ₹75,000
- Permanent disability: ₹1 lakh
- Death: ₹4 lakh
- Since rhesus macaques were removed from the relevant protection schedule in 2022, officials indicated that the family of the deceased woman may not qualify for compensation under the existing wildlife framework.
- A Shimla-based NGO has demanded ₹5 lakh compensation for the deceased woman's family and stricter action against people feeding monkeys.
Way Forward
- Monkey management should involve Forest Departments, ULBs, veterinary experts and wildlife specialists rather than assigning the responsibility exclusively to one agency.
- Sterilisation should continue where scientifically appropriate, accompanied by population monitoring and evaluation of its long-term effectiveness.
- ULBs require dedicated funds and trained personnel for safe capture, sterilisation and release operations.
- Authorities should strictly regulate public feeding of wild animals and improve solid-waste management to reduce artificial food sources.
- Compensation policies should be reviewed to ensure that victims of serious human-wildlife conflict are not left without support merely because of changes in species classification.
- Urban planning should incorporate wildlife-sensitive measures in areas adjoining forests and known monkey habitats.
