How to catch a furry villain
My heart is racing in my throat as I slowly
open the door. Not much but just enough to see what’s going on. Behind me
Sophie panics: “Close it mamma, please. Maybe he will come here and hurt us.” Doris
wraps her arms around my leg, she always does that when she feels nervous.
I
hear lots but can’t see much through the small gap. The table, the last place
where I saw our hostage taker, is empty but underneath it are some banana
peels, a sign that must have enjoyed himself. He likes to sit on the table where
he can help himself to any of the food that is there. His favourite food are
eggs, tomatoes, avo’s and bananas but he will take a bite out of anything else
that’s available too. If he doesn’t like it he will just spit it out again. When
he came in I tried to scare him away, first by screaming, then by throwing
things at him but all that only made him more aggressive. I felt a bit of shame
as I retreated to the bathroom where the girls were already hiding from the moment
he came in but our villain is unpredictable and once before he had already almost
attacked Sophie, who is only a little bigger than him. After spending 15
minutes as hostages of a monkey, stuck in the toilet, it finally became quiet
and only then I was brave enough to see if he was gone. There were peels, broken eggs and trash all
over the floor but the monkey was gone.
It wasn’t the first time he had done
something like that. The other day I was cooking and he just walked into the kitchen,
when I tried to chase him he growled at me as if it was me invading in his
space instead of the other way around. He is a bit more scared when Hartmut is
around, because Hartmut usually carries a catapult or some rocks to chase him
but the moment he sees that Hartmut is unarmed, he will go for him too. The
girls were becoming too scared to play outside and even I felt at times a bit
nervous walking through the garden and kept all our doors closed all the time because too often he had interpreted an open door as an invite.
Something had to happen because it wasn’t a question if he would attack and bite us but when it would happen. And a monkey bite, and all the diseases that can come with that, is the last thing you want. There was talk about guns, nets and other weapons but all that is pretty illegal. Fortunately the Lilongwe Wildlife Trust could come out for an assessment. They had never heard of a monkey that brazen and told me that the monkey was probably kept as a pet until it became too big. Otherwise it would never be so comfortable around people. After the assessment we were in touch through WhatsApp, monitoring the monkey and his behaviour and this morning they came back, armed with a trap, food and patience. The monkey is around every day but obviously, today he was nowhere to be seen. The team of vets and researchers walked around the entire neighbourhood but the troop of monkeys that he is part of could not be found so after a couple of hours they left. I told them that we might have to take matters in our own hands to get rid of this monkey. The health and safety of us and our community is important. They obviously understood that it was also clear that they weren’t happy about it.
With no traps, vets or researchers in sight the monkeys came pretty soon after they left and fortunately the team was able to turn around. It didn’t take long for them to catch the big monkey; he walked into the trap to get the bananas that were there just to lure him in without a doubt, I think he was sure that he was invincible. Even after he was caught it took him a while to realise it. Only after the bananas were finished and he wanted to go elsewhere to find more food he realised that he was trapped…
I have never been as happy to see an animal in captivity. The girls danced and sang “Now we can play without fear again!’.
I am glad that the monkey did not have to die for our and their safety. Instead he will be kept in quarantine for a couple of weeks before being released into the wild in one of the nature reserves in Malawi where he will probably join a troop and live far far away from the people.
PS: please people, don't keep wild animals as a pet. Just don't.
Something had to happen because it wasn’t a question if he would attack and bite us but when it would happen. And a monkey bite, and all the diseases that can come with that, is the last thing you want. There was talk about guns, nets and other weapons but all that is pretty illegal. Fortunately the Lilongwe Wildlife Trust could come out for an assessment. They had never heard of a monkey that brazen and told me that the monkey was probably kept as a pet until it became too big. Otherwise it would never be so comfortable around people. After the assessment we were in touch through WhatsApp, monitoring the monkey and his behaviour and this morning they came back, armed with a trap, food and patience. The monkey is around every day but obviously, today he was nowhere to be seen. The team of vets and researchers walked around the entire neighbourhood but the troop of monkeys that he is part of could not be found so after a couple of hours they left. I told them that we might have to take matters in our own hands to get rid of this monkey. The health and safety of us and our community is important. They obviously understood that it was also clear that they weren’t happy about it.
With no traps, vets or researchers in sight the monkeys came pretty soon after they left and fortunately the team was able to turn around. It didn’t take long for them to catch the big monkey; he walked into the trap to get the bananas that were there just to lure him in without a doubt, I think he was sure that he was invincible. Even after he was caught it took him a while to realise it. Only after the bananas were finished and he wanted to go elsewhere to find more food he realised that he was trapped…
I have never been as happy to see an animal in captivity. The girls danced and sang “Now we can play without fear again!’.
I am glad that the monkey did not have to die for our and their safety. Instead he will be kept in quarantine for a couple of weeks before being released into the wild in one of the nature reserves in Malawi where he will probably join a troop and live far far away from the people.
PS: please people, don't keep wild animals as a pet. Just don't.
