Evidence-Based Approach
Monkey guarding (made possible through funding and support from LTM & QATO)
Inspired by the works of the Jane Goodall Institute Singapore and their Monkey Guards Programme, Animal Neighbours Project has set out on a quest to bring this practice to Malaysia. Monkey guarding seeks to encourage coexistence by creating a safe space between humans and macaques.
It involves the principles of negative reinforcement by having trained monkey guards stationed at residential hotspots to deter wild macaques by hitting a stick on the ground to make a noise or waving it in their direction. Monkey guarding has to be carried out in a safe and respectful manner as it does not seek to eliminate sightings of macaques.
The goal is for the macaques to become wary of entering residential areas, thus reducing the chances of conflict. Monkey guards also learn how to behave around wild macaques to avoid negative interactions and thus are encouraged to pass the knowledge on to the public.
Coexistence Consultation
Enhance community led efforts to develop coexistence strategies with the aim of reducing negative interaction between wildlife and urban communities within a neighbourhood area. Ultimately we aim to improve the interaction between wildlife and local communities in urban areas of Malaysia.
In 2019, ‘Urban Human-Monkey Conflict Community Workshops’ were hosted in Malaysia which succeeded to gather over 60 participants ranging from residents, researchers, NGOs and government officials.
These workshops were a platform to bring people of different backgrounds together and empower them to come up with multidisciplinary solutions for the human-monkey conflict.
These groups are known as Local Action Groups or LAGs, with the aim to improve the interactions between humans and monkeys. LAG’s continue to engage with ANP to manage the problem locally.
Monkey proof bin latch
Monkeys get food easily from bins in parks. Forward planning is needed in the future when parks have wildlife nearby to avoid such issues.One of our implementations was a simple renovation, to install steel flaps to reduce the amount of opening space on the current park bins to minimise the chance of bin raidings.
Under the GCRF seed funding, the project worked with a local custom works designer in Malaysia to design a monkey-proof bin using a novel latch in urban areas where complaints are that monkeys get access to bins.
Human Animal Interaction Research
Health and disease
In 2015, following a successful funding from the Malaysian Medical Council, ANP teamed up with Perdana University RCSI and started the first research collaboration in Kuala Selangor.
The research aimed to understand the factors causing human macaque conflict in urban areas including the health perspective and disease prevention.
Publication link: https://gutpathogens.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13099-020-00352-x
Behaviour
The project actively conducts behaviour data in the field to understand the interaction between humans and wildlife.
By studying animal behaviour and human animal interaction, we get a better understanding of what causes the conflict and how to provide an effective solution.