Feeding monkeys in Agumbe may land you in trouble
Udupi, Feb 07, 2021: Think twice before feeding a monkey on the Agumbe Ghat stretch as the forest officials standing nearby might immediately appear and impose a fine on you.
As many as 40 personnel are posted to guard the 10 km Ghat section during weekends.
Agumbe Ghat connecting Udupi and Shivamogga district via Agumbe is one of the busy roads during weekends. Hundreds of people come here to have a view of the sunset at the viewpoint in the Ghat section. The number swells during holidays and weekends.
Monkeys are in large number in this forest and it is quite common for many to stop on the roads and feed them. While some feed them with fruits, many give them junk food too. They also dump the plastic covers and packets in the forest.
People also stop by the roadside to have a bath at the falls. Here too they end up dirtying the place.
The forest department has now taken this seriously and has started imposing fine on such activities.
As many as 40 forest department personnel from Hebri, Karkala, Amasebail, and Siddapura Wildlife Division are posted in the 10 km stretch of the Ghats. They not only educate the people at Someshwar and Agumbe (the two ends of the Ghat section) but also impose fines on the violators.
On Saturday fine was imposed on nine people who were feeding the monkeys and also dumping waste on the roadside.
“The operation is during Saturday and Sunday as the number of travelers is more. Feeding food to the animals affects their natural habit. Their food system gets affected and they will wait for this food. If they don’t get food there are possibilities of them attacking the people,” Hebri Range Forest Officer Anil Kumar feels.
“Such contacts are also dangerous as there are possibilities of transmission of disease from animals to human,” he added.
Fine details:
- Dumping waste and plastic on the roadside: ₹100
- Entering forest without permission, cooking inside the forest, having a bath at the roadside falls and cleaning vehicles, staying in the forest more than the fixed time: ₹200
- Feeding animals: ₹50
