A wildlife and environment conservationist has called upon the Kenya Wildlife Service (KFS) and Murang’a county government among other stakeholders to employ better strategies on how to contain monkeys at conservancies.
Justus Nyamu, who has been championing elephant welfare, observed that the marauding monkeys in urban centres and villages within Murang’a has led to human wildlife conflicts.
He said destruction caused by monkeys is not listed among cases for compensation, adding farmers have been subjected to huge losses caused by the primates.
Speaking when he paid a courtesy call to the Muranga County Commissioner Joshua Nkanatha, the conservationist stated that the monkeys need to be contained at forests and game parks
He observed that human activities like littering in the streets contribute to an ever increasing population of monkeys near residential areas and work-places.
Nyamu added that the primates adapt to eating human food scraps, which can lead to increased interactions with humans and the potential spread of diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans.
“What attracts monkeys close to people is poor management of solid waste. Dustbins are rarely emptied and monkeys are highly adaptable animals, they have a conditional reflex. The moment they start eating from the pit, they can’t go back to the wild.
“After every month, we get new young ones, and some of these young ones have never eaten anything else apart from the leftovers and even easy ways of eating maize and food crops,” said Nyamu.
To properly manage the monkey infestation, Nyamu opined that the KWS in collaboration with the county government and the office of county commissioner, should first conduct a survey on residential areas where monkeys have mostly become a menace, before working on better plans to mitigate the problem.
“It is a collective responsibility that the county commissioner, who is the chairperson of the County Compensation Committee, county government and other non-state actors, have to show the commitment in not only eradicating but also coordinating and also supervising other activities that are environment related.” He added.
Nyamu, who spearheads the Elephant Campaign walk, which creates public awareness on the importance of environment and wildlife conservation was in Murang’a for three days to create awareness on the welfare of Elephant before he was flagged off by the county commissioner Joshua Nkanatha to continue with the campaign in the neighbouring Kirinyaga County.
During his tours, Nyamu sensitized residents of Kiambu, Nairobi and Murang’a, amid plans to sensitize locals of six more counties before ending their 18th Elephant Campaign walk edition in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in October this year.
By Bernard Munyao and Anjilwa Francis
