Mysuru, 2 July

Close on the heels of killing of a tigress and her four cubs to death in MM Hills wildlife sanctuary, nearly two dozen monkeys were poisoned to death in Gundlupet taluk of Chamarajanagar district on Wednesday.

The forest department officials recovered the carcasses of 18 bonnet macaques which were found dead on Kodasoge- Kandegala road in Bandipur Tiger Reserve buffer zone in Gundlupet rural police station limits.

They also rescued two monkeys battling for life and arranged the necessary treatment for them at a veterinary hospital in Gundlupet town.  

Assistant Director of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences Dr Mahadesh said that the postmortem report confirmed that the monkeys were poisoned to death. He added that the samples were sent to advanced laboratories ensure accurate testing.

According to preliminary investigation reports, forest department officials suspected that local farmers may have been upset over destruction of their crops, leading them to poison the macaques. They later they dumped them on the roadside of  Kodasoge and Kandegala stretch, police believed. Police said that they probing all possible angles.   

Camera footage installed along the stretch did not reveal any suspicious movement of goods vehicles or autoricksaws, but police recovered to gunny bags near the monkey’s bodies.

The incident has drawn widespread condemnation both by villagers and environmentalists.         

Mysuru Wildlife Circle Chief Conservator of Forests Malathipriya said that the department will take action after going through postmortem reports.