Last weekend (October 23rd, 2021), the Thenmala Macaque Project organised a short awareness workshop in collaboration with the Shendurney Wildlife Division. It was held at the Forest Information Centre, Shendurney in Thenmala. The topic of the workshop was human-macaque interactions and conflict resolutions.
The aim of the meeting was to raise awareness among three local community members from the Ecotourism Development Committee. The workshop was presided over by B Sajeev Kumar, Wildlife Warden, C Ajayan, Assistant Wildlife Warden, Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, Santhosh, Junior Executive, Thenmala Ecotourism Authority, staff and members of Thenmala and Shendurney Wildlife Department along with our team led by Professor Małgorzata Arlet (AMU, Poland).
We discussed the current status of bonnet macaques, issues concerning human-macaque interactions in the area, and possible resolutions to avoid conflict.
In the near future, our team along with the support from the Forest Department plan to conduct more of such awareness programs for other communities that face human-macaque conflict.