MAYILADUTHURAI: Stepping up measures to tackle the monkey menace in Sithamalli in the district, the forest department on Wednesday set traps and caught twelve monkeys from various parts of the village. The monkey menace that has been plaguing the village for some time now came to light earlier this week, after which the district administration directed the forest department to catch them at the earliest.
Entrusted with the task, personnel from the forest department, consisting of foresters, guards and anti-poaching watchers, and led by a range officer, on Wednesday night set up cage traps at various spots in the village. Food items such as fruits and biscuits were kept on the cage to lure the animals.
The captured monkeys include: Big male monkey - 1, Male monkey - 2, Female monkey -5, Infant monkey -4. After capturing them, they taken from the village on trucks, sources said. However, the residents said the relief was short-lived since more monkeys came to the spotlight to continue the menace.
The villagers have been complaining about food items being snatched from households. They requested the officials to continue the hunt. According to A Joseph Daniel, the Forest Range Officer from Sirkazhi, the captured monkeys will be released into the reserve forest near Ariyalur. "We have sought more cages from the department, after which we will reset the traps and capture the rest of them," Joseph assured.