Simians get a helping hand

Animals on streets have been starving in tourist spots due to the lockdown

As part of the tour to the scenic sites, tourists normally feed monkeys on the way. Many monkeys depend on the generosity of these tourists for their source of food. But due to the lockdown, many of them have been starving. What was previously available in abundance disappeared due to the travel restrictions.

However, a few good samaritans have been feeding monkeys regularly so that they don’t starve. Sandeep Singh, who owns a gym in the city, would frequent to Muttatti (a religious and picnic spot) on the banks of the Cauvery river (around 140 km from Bengaluru), where en route, you encounter many monkeys. “The source of food for these monkeys was completely stopped, with travel restrictions enforced due to the lockdown. So we decided to provide and take bananas and other fruits to them,” said Singh.

Along with city-based green activists Acharya Pradeep and Satish BR, Singh made regular trips to Muttatti to feed the monkeys. “We had many people, especially schoolchildren who were pooling in money to help feed these starving monkeys.”

Rachaiah S, a photojournalist from Hampi, has been feeding around 150 monkeys every day since the lockdown has been imposed. Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, Rachaiah said, “Those who have visited Hampi can never forget the monkeys as they are everywhere. These monkeys depended on tourists for food. However, since March 14, when Hampi imposed travel restrictions, their source of food vanished. Additionally, as it was summer, finding food and water isn’t easy. So I decided to help these residents of Hampi and contacted a number of friends who were willing to donate food and fruits. Every afternoon, we would go around the monuments in Hampi and feed them.”

A similar plight of peacocks was seen at the Bangalore University, where over 200 peacocks flock the campus. These peacocks had been starving due to the lockdown, but a team led by TJ Renuka Prasad, professor of Geology (retd) and coordinator of Biopark in BU, has been successfully reaching out to people to help feed these birds on campus.