THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Nine bonnet macaques were found dead near the Mankayam check-post in the Palode forest range on Sunday. The monkeys were found in and around rubber trees flanking both sides of a stream near the Palode-Mankayam pump house around 11.30am. A case of unnatural death has been registered, and an investigation is under way.
The carcasses were first noticed by a group of women who had gone to the stream. Some monkeys were seen lying under rubber trees, while others were floating dead in the stream. The scene quickly drew attention due to the unusually high number of monkeys found together.
“There are rubber plantations on both sides of the stream. It is common to see the monkeys jump back and forth between the trees. At first, we thought they might have slipped and fallen into the stream. But then we noticed several of them foaming at the mouth and shivering,” said a local ASHA worker who was among the first to spot the animals.
“As we moved a bit further, we found nine monkeys dead,” she added.
The forest department’s Rapid Response Team soon reached the spot and shifted the carcasses to the Peringamala forest section office. Initial signs point towards possible poisoning, as many of the monkeys showed signs of severe discomfort before death, including foaming at the mouth and tremors.
A local resident, on condition on anonymity, said that traps or poisoned bait, laid by nearby resort owners possibly intended for wild elephants, might have accidentally harmed the monkeys. “There have been growing complaints from local residents about monkeys raiding crops and damaging property. Some believe the monkeys, relocated here by forest officials from other areas, are becoming a nuisance. We cannot even drink water from the wells as monkeys urinate in it. We don’t know if someone took matters into their own hands,” the local resident said.
However, the divisional forest officer clarified that the exact cause of death can only be confirmed after postmortem examination.