By: Staff Writer
February 14, 2023
Officials on the French side of Saint-Martin are seeking ways to battle the invasive of green “vervet” monkeys, weeks after the Dutch Sint Maarten side ordered a culling of 450 over the next three years.
The primates, originally from Africa,were originally brought in on ships by foreign traders as pets and are reproducing at an alarming rate, while threatening the survival of some indigenous species, authorities have said.
The Nature Foundation St. Maarten, an NGO, will be charged with capturing the green monkeys for culling as part of a three-year plan to contain their population growth.
“When a species establishes a population in an area that it isn’t native to there are often no predators to keep the population size under control,” said the foundation’s manager, Leslie Hickerson. “Species management is an important aspect of keeping the island healthy for those who come after us.”
Research carried out by the Nature Foundation St Maarten found in 2020 that about 450 vervet monkeys were living on the Dutch side of the island.
An updated survey has not yet been completed, but according to a foundation press release, initial numbers indicate a large increase in troop size.
“The number of monkeys in Sint Maarten will continue to grow if no measures are taken, and the consequences to Sint Maarten’s native ecosystems will be severe,” it said.
The foundation also cited a recent study from St. Kitts that showed the current number of invasive monkeys was estimated to be 40,000 in 2020 — a number equaling St. Kitts’ human population.
The monkeys have earned a reputation among locals for acting aggressively to residents and pets as well as overturning garbage bins, destroying gardens and defecating on people’s property.
The non-indigenous monkeys are not picky eaters and will consume just about anything including bird eggs, crops and ornamental and fruit plants and trees.
Reported from another news source, Dave Du Toit, founder of the Vervet Monkey Foundation in South Africa, where the species is native, said the cull was unlikely to work.
“I think a better approach and more publicly acceptable would be to vasectomise the males and sterilise the females,” he said.
The non-profit, which shelters orphaned and injured primates, also educates the public on the role of vervet monkeys in the ecosystem and how to prevent human-monkey conflict.
Du Toit said that to allow for a more harmonious existence between the monkeys and Sint Maarten residents, research into the availability of food for wildlife needs urgent attention.
“Where, how and what food sources are disposed of that attract the monkeys needs to be addressed [and] what natural areas can be utilised by wildlife without interference,” he said.