Bonnet Macaque Monkey | 19 Dec 2023

The discovery of 27 bonnet macaque monkey carcasses in a Karnataka village spotlights the escalating human-monkey conflict driven by habitat encroachment and diminishing wildlife spaces.

• Instances of monkey incursions for food in human territories have led to distressing events, like the suspected poisoning of macaques in Guthigaru village.
• The encroachment of farming into forest fringes, particularly coconut plantations and fruit orchards, draws monkeys when natural food sources diminish.
• The bonnet macaque (Macaca radiata) is a species of Old World monkey. They are gray-brown in color, have large ears, wrinkly faces, and a mop of hair on their heads that is parted in the middle.
  • The bonnet macaque gets its name from the whorls of hair on the crown of its head that resemble a cap or bonnet.
  • Bonnet macaques are endemic commensals: they are found only in peninsular India and live in close proximity with humans.
  • IUCN Status: Vulnerable