Monkeys reduced by 24.55%, langurs by 31.14%, claims Uttarakhand Forest Minister

Reacting to the complaints from the farmers about the damage caused by monkeys in agriculture, the Uttarakhand Government conducted a sterilization campaign following which the number of monkeys and langurs has decreased in the state.

Dehradun: Uttarakhand Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal puts forward the reduction in the numbers of Monkeys and Langurs in the state. According to the Forest Department, the number of monkeys in the state has decreased by 24.55 percent in 2021 compared to 2015, while there has been a decline in the number of Langurs by 31.14 percent.

Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal said that monkeys and langurs have always been a big problem for farming in Uttarakhand. There have been complaints from the farmers about the damage caused by monkeys in agriculture. Reacting to the issue, the Uttarakhand Government conducted a sterilization campaign following which the number of monkeys and langurs has decreased in the state. The minister accentuated that a total of 42,761 monkeys and langurs have been sterilized so far, which includes 23,768 male monkeys and 18,993 female monkeys.

Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal told that in the census conducted in 2021, the number of monkeys was recorded at 1,10,481 and the number of langurs was 37,735. However, in 2015, there were 1,46,432 monkeys recorded, while the number of langurs was 54,804. The Forest Minister added that they used the technology provided by the Wildlife Institute of India to count the monkeys and langurs in the state. The forest department will establish two monkey forests in the state in Haldwani and Haridwar.