“The report confirmed that 25 of the released monkeys have died,” Tulsi Sharma, the spokesperson for the Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation, said referring to the Warden´s report. [break]
Quoting the report, Sharma said that while the seed monkeys provided to the research centre by the government are still safe in the park, the breed monkeys have died as they were “not rehabilitated” to live in the wild.
The Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation released the monkeys despite repeated warnings by conservationists and animal workers of the possible threat to their lives and damage to the ecological system.
“The ministry´s carelessness has led to this situation,” Manoj Gautam, a conservationist, commented.
According to Gautam the ministry arbitrarily took a decision to release the monkeys even when a comprehensive plan was being worked out. “It is illegal to release captive animals in such a reckless manner. The entire eco-system is under threat,” Gautam said, adding, “I hold Minister Deepak Bohara and Director General of the DNPWC personally responsible for this situation.”
The APP Foundation, a Dutch NGO, too has condemned the death of the monkeys stating that the ministry did not pay any heed to their request to provide them with data nor did it cooperate in processing the rehabilitation proposal forwarded by the organization.
“We had warned the officials of likely consequences and told them that release must be done under IUCN guidelines. But no one listened. This is most unprofessional” Ayesha Boele, APP representative in Nepal, told Republica.
Boele said that the breed monkeys were separated from their parents at very young age and hence could not survive in the wild. “Fighting could be one possible reason of their death,” she said.
She further said that family groups are needed to teach the young ones to socialize. “They do not have that skill nor are they attuned to taking natural food,” she said.
Rehabilitation of captive animals is a long drawn procedure which involves training the animals to live in the wild. “It seems the authorities simply wanted to get rid of the monkeys from Lele,” she added.
The APP Foundation in January had visited several national parks and proposed to establish a rehabilitation center in Nawalparasi. They had also proposed to bring in foreign students for research. It was ready to pull in $200,000 for the project.
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