It isn't just one or two — dozens of villages across Madhubani district are grappling with monkeys running riot. The situation is such that, to save their grain, locals have to rely on mud pellets and a wooden slingshot. The moment anything is laid out to dry on a rooftop or in a courtyard, the monkeys swoop in to eat and ruin it. In response, villagers stand guard over their grain with these very tools. Let us take a closer look at this homegrown trick.
Monkeys Flee Far Away from the Slingshot
The number of villages in Madhubani district struggling with the menace of monkeys is not one or two, but several dozen. Apart from Shahpur, Sarhad, Navhath, Jateshwar and Lohat in Pandaul block, people in many areas of Phulparas, Jhanjharpur and Benipatti are troubled by the monkeys' mischief. By and large, the canal belt is home to monkeys in very large numbers. Besides making the orchards and gardens their base, these monkeys reach people's rooftops and courtyards in search of food, and they simply will not rest without damaging the grain left out to dry or otherwise lying there. Eating half and scattering the rest is in this creature's nature. The villagers' wish is that the monkeys are not hurt, while their grain, food and fruit also stay safe. To tackle exactly this problem, the villagers have come up with a remarkable solution — the wooden slingshot and the mud pellet.
As it happens, the moment villagers set out wheat, pulses or household items to dry on the roof, the monkeys turn up at once to eat and to wreck them. In such situations, villagers take aim with the slingshot and strike them. The pellet is made of mud, and the instant it lands, the monkey tucks its tail and bolts. People here keep mud pellets ready, and a wooden slingshot is found in almost every home, so that the moment a monkey appears, it can be targeted from a distance and it flees on sight. This does not cause the monkeys much injury, but out of fear they do run away. In many cases it is also seen that if the kitchen is left open, the monkeys make off with rotis and fruit too.
Find Out Why the Monkeys Head Toward the Villages
Troubled by all this, the villagers have devised this slingshot fix to deal with the monkeys. In this video, Madanmohan Jha can be seen taking aim and firing a pellet. He explains that it has become a daily chore, and that many people have to do the same to fend off the monkeys, because there is little one can say to them anymore. According to him, this monkey menace has been far more visible in Madhubani since 2012. After bridges and canals were built in various places and the forests dwindled, the monkeys began moving toward the rural areas in greater numbers.
