Posts Tagged ‘monkeys’

Don’t feed the monkeys!

An English-subtitled news report about how Mino City is struggling to deal with a monkey population increase:

The monkey population has doubled in the last 10 years. Tourists have been feeding the monkeys, making them unafraid of approaching humans and automobiles.

Because they are designated by the national government as a protected monkey population, the local government cannot call in hunters to cull the population. Instead, the Mino City assembly has unanimously passed a monkey feeding ban that will carry a fine of up to 10,000 yen.

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The watcher

A strange fellow has appeared in my village recently.  What the hell is he doing?

A closer look reveals that this is not a “fellow” at all, but rather a mannequin.  Apparently the inoshishi (wild boar) and saru (monkeys) have been crop raiding lately.  So, “the watcher” (that’s what I call him–his real name it turns out is Ted) has been commissioned to stand guard over the fields.

I don’t know where the hell people found this guy, or what his original purpose was, but I’m glad he’s found some work to keep him busy in his retirement.

Keep up the good work Ted!

Thanks to K-san for the photos. . .find her original article (in Japanese) here.

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Contributor Bio: I am a doctoral student of environmental anthropology currently living and conducting research in a mountain village in Nagano. In my research I explore modernity as it is expressed in a rural mountain community. Specifically I look at national management structures, as well as social discourses, related to forests and probe the impacts these have on local human communities. I have lived and worked in Japan for 5 years. My interests also include Buddhism, literature, music, and mountaineering. Read more at my personal blog: In the Pines.
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Fat monkeys lose weight, get new enclosure

An update from ATV on the horribly overweight monkeys of Ohama park in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture:

As reported in June, the monkeys have made remarkable progress with their diet. Almost all of the dangerously heavy monkeys are down to safer weights, and they have been moved to a new enclosure with barriers that prevent visitors from throwing them food. According to the video, the new monkey enclosure will be open to visitors starting today.

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Osaka’s overweight monkeys are losing weight

It’s been about a year since the disgustingly overweight monkeys at Ohama park in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture started a special diet. FTV has an update on how they’re doing:

The park will soon open a new monkey enclosure. The enclosure will have much more space in which the monkeys can exercise.

Park staff checked the weight of the monkeys and discovered that the diet has been having a positive effect. The fattest monkey, who weighted 29.2 kilograms two years ago now weights a mere 17.5 kilograms!

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Video: Marauding monkeys terrorize Karuizawa

Tokyo residents might be enjoying the idea of a lone monkey wandering their city, but for people out in Karuizawa, marauding monkeys are a serious problem. Here’s a clip from a news report that aired yesterday about gangs of monkeys destroying crops, damaging trees, and generally annoying humans:

The report mentioned that BB guns were being used to scare away monkeys, but a few old men with BB guns doesn’t make much of a lasting impact [see this classic 2006 Japan Probe post for video of them in action]. Perhaps Karuizawa should focus more on the use monkey-chasing dogs?

Fat monkeys in Osaka struggle to lose weight

Remember the disgustingly overweight monkeys we posted about back in May? FTV aired a follow up story about them yesterday, checking on the status of their diet. Below is a video embed of the report with a summary in English:

• Two months have passed since the 50 Macaca mulatta monkeys at Ohama park in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture started a special diet of extra-healthy vegetables, grain, and small fish. Have there been any noticeable results?
• After some shots of the fat animals, nicknamed “metabolic monkeys” by the Japanese media, an old man explains that they became so fat because visitors to the park fed them too much. He confesses that he himself contributed to the problem. He had never expected that the monkeys would become so overweight.
• Because the monkeys are kept at a park, not a zoo, there are fewer barriers or staff preventing them from throwing food to the monkeys. The park has put up more signs telling visitors not to feed the monkeys, and has also cut the amount of calories in their daily food by 60%.
• When the monkeys are fed, they go for the high calorie bananas and sweet potatoes first, leaving healthier veggies and grains. After all the good stuff is gone, they finally eat the remaining healthy food.
• The official in charge of the park claims that it really looks like the monkeys have started to loose weight since April, but photographs show little difference. Regular visitors to the park don’t think the diet is working, and one man even thinks the monkeys have become even fatter!
• How could the diet be failing? The park employee in charge of cleaning the monkey area shows that he’s been finding candy wrappers and peanut shells. Somebody’s been throwing food to the monkeys!
• Since signs don’t seem to be stopping visitors from throwing food to the monkeys, the park is now planning to erect a mesh barrier to block food throwers.

More details on the monkeys diet can be found in the Sankei Shinbun (Japanese).