Kimberley - A troop of monkeys is holding a suburb in Kimberley hostage, wreaking havoc at homes and leaving residents fearing for their safety.
Residents of Mogul Park said on Wednesday that the troop, consisting of about 20 monkeys, recently appeared in and around Stadium Street, and have been targeting homes in the area, stealing food and causing chaos.
One resident, Jainub Mookrey, on Wednesday raised concern about the wild animals in the residential area, saying that they would do anything to get to food in yards and homes.
“We do not know what to do with these monkeys anymore; they are often in our yards and even on the roof, scavenging for food. They come and steal any food left out for our dogs and birds. I run a catering business from my house and fear that the animals might gain entry into the kitchen and cause serious damage,” Mookrey said.
Mookrey added that she was also fearful that the large troop of monkeys might harm small children in the area.
She also pointed out that numerous calls for help with the wild animals to the Northern Cape Department of Environment and Nature Conservation had been left unanswered.
According to Mookrey, it appears as if the monkeys were living in an overgrown area at the KEW Bowling Club, also in Stadium Street. However, the manager at the bowling club said that the monkeys came from the Kenilworth Cemetery and were often seen by club members.
“We have had to take extra precautions to keep everything closed and locked up after hours in an attempt to prevent the animals from gaining entry into our clubhouse.
“They will go wild for any food that is left in sight. The grapevine on the premises has been completely destroyed,” he said.
Spokesman for the department, Lesego Pule, said they have not received any complaints about the troop in Mogul Park.
He did, however, indicate that residents should report any sightings to the department, who could capture and release the animals into the wild again.
“With the recent drought, the veld is extremely dry and monkeys are driven into suburban areas in search of food.
“Residents are advised to put food away and keep dustbins tightly closed. If they (the monkeys) do not succeed in finding food they will move on,” Pule said.
He added that while the monkeys were not known to be harmful, they could attack small children, especially if they were carrying fruit or other food items, and advised parents to be careful.
The outcry follows sightings of monkeys in the CBD earlier this week.
However, residents took to Facebook to urge people to “leave the monkeys alone” as they kept “window smashers” and “cellphone thieves”, who ran away from the animals, away from intersections in the CBD.
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