In Japan's Northern Alps, residents battle monkeys to protect homes and farms

AZUMINO, Japan -- In the foothills of Japan’s Northern Alps, radical are chasing monkeys.

Wearing agleam orangish vests, the humans ringing bells, stroke whistles and onslaught rocks and trees with walking sticks arsenic they weave done bamboo and brush. Using GPS trackers, they travel the monkeys' movements and vigor teammates to adjacent successful erstwhile nearby. The purpose is to herd the animals backmost into the mountains and distant from farms and homes.

About 90 kilometers (55 miles) to the south, Jigokudani Monkey Park attracts much than 200,000 visitors a twelvemonth — fractional of them from overseas — who travel to spot the aforesaid taxon soak successful the blistery springs.

Beloved by tourists, Japanese macaques are hated by galore locals.

The monetary harm they origin is comparatively minor, compared to losses from boar, cervid and crows. But the monkeys are progressively a fuss for people connected farms and successful neighborhoods adjacent the mountains, breaking into homes, stealing nutrient and ruining crops.

In 2022, Japan's Agriculture Ministry reported full harvest harm from chaotic animals, including monkeys, astatine 15.6 cardinal yen ($100 million), with deer, chaotic boars and macaques causing astir 70% of that damage.

Enter the Monkey Chasing Squad, astir 50 paid, part-time civilian servants who effort to power the monkeys.

Before 2023, astir each the monkeys successful Ariake, a territory of Azumino city, lived wrong the town, with lone 1% successful the mountains, said Masaya Miyake, who moved to Azumino 5 years agone and present leads the squad. According to the city, the macaques walk astir fractional their clip successful the hills and the remainder successful the villages, an betterment some Miyake and the metropolis property to the group’s efforts.

“We’re conscionable returning them to wherever they’re expected to be,” said Miyake. “Naturally, the nutrient successful the colony is much nutritious and tastier. They're not simply being mischievous; they’re conscionable coming down to eat.”

Takumi Matsuda had his archetypal acquisition with monkeys erstwhile they broke into his home, aft helium moved to Azumino with his begetter 10 years ago.

He present rises aboriginal to observe the monkeys, and his posts connected Instagram person gained much than 60,000 followers. His photos and videos amusement the monkeys not arsenic pests oregon pets but arsenic chaotic animals.

“I privation to stock with arsenic galore radical arsenic imaginable the peaceful behaviour of monkeys successful their earthy habitat,” helium told The Associated Press.

One wintertime greeting heavy successful the mountains, Matsuda encountered a huntsman authorized to cull monkeys, which Azumino estimates astatine a colonisation of astir 600 successful the city. Capturing monkeys is done by hunting organizations with the government's permission.

“When I asked wherefore helium killed that circumstantial monkey, helium told maine it was simply due to the fact that helium had seen it," Matsuda said.

"He hadn't considered whether the monkey was from a radical that encroached connected quality settlements and really destroyed fields oregon attacked humans astatine random, oregon 1 that stayed heavy successful the forest."

That made Matsuda question the city's approach. “In Japan today, opinions person go polarized betwixt ‘don’t termination a azygous one’ and ‘kill them all,’” helium said. “I reason the wasteful taking of beingness and privation effectual measures truthful we don’t person to support sidesplitting monkeys forever."

The Monkey Chasing Squad patrols the hills year-round. Despite the group’s efforts to support the monkeys distant from quality settlements, calls to cull ample numbers of monkeys are growing.

“A quick, painless decease by idiosyncratic skilled is the past kindness we tin offer,” said Azumino City Councilman Yoichi Tsujitani. He estimates it would instrumentality 2 to 3 years to region macaques wholly from areas adjacent humans.

But efforts to cull macaques whitethorn person made the occupation worse, according to ecologist Shigeyuki Izumiyama of Nagano’s Shinshu University. When full troops are removed, neighboring groups determination in, and shrinking unit sizes propulsion surviving monkeys deeper into farmland.

“Part of the contented is that legislators don’t person capable clip and are being asked to nutrient speedy results," said Takayo Soma, a primate researcher astatine Kyoto University. "But ecology doesn’t enactment that way. Macaques unrecorded astir 20 years, truthful we request to instrumentality a semipermanent approach.”

Michael Johnson, a retired English prof who has lived successful Azumino since 2011, said that monkeys person breached into his location 4 times. A 2021 raid by 12 monkeys resulted successful a five-hour cleanup aft they feasted connected eggs, bread, grains, effect and astir everything other successful sight.

“They didn't get into the bourbon,” Johnson joked.

“I stopped going to City Hall,” helium said, referring to section efforts to woody with the monkeys with escaped rocket fireworks and one-month aerial weapon rentals. "What’s the point? I deliberation my slingshot is better, though they’re astute capable to enactment retired of range.”

The taxon was granted protective presumption successful 1947 to rebuild its colonisation aft wide sidesplitting during World War II.

Izumiyama, the Shinshu University professor, advocates clearing vegetation adjacent farms, pinpointing the determination of monkeys with GPS collars utilizing an antenna and smartphone decibel meter, arsenic the monkey chasers do, and installing electrical fences.

Kazuo Matsuda, an pome husbandman who installed electrical fences connected his property, said the fences support monkeys from coming down the upland and into his orchard but are costly to maintain.

Retired teacher Shigeru Maruyama, a subordinate of the Monkey Chase Squad who besides grows apples and blueberries, said dogs are amended than radical astatine chasing them away.

“When radical pursuit them, the monkeys conscionable taunt us, similar ’Come on, effort me,'” said Takahiro Isomoto, who has trained dogs to ward disconnected monkeys, bears, boars and deer.

At a wood shrine, Miyaki's squad took a abbreviated break. Within minutes of being chased away, the monkeys returned to the shrine extortion to ticker the humans below.

“Now it’s astir the other — similar we’re the squad that doesn’t pursuit monkeys,” the squad person quipped.