When I first read that I thought it surely must be a parody (is it, I'm still debating that)

Either way those villagers need to invest in some kind of weaponry, not to necessarily kill the monkeys before PETA comes to get me, but to better defend themselves like farmers here do against coyotes or other predators because if it's gotten to the point where people have to leave their homes then something does need to be done about the animal population. Maybe there's some type of monkey repellent.

I wonder if grabbing one's dick is a genetic trait of it the monkeys picked it up somewhere from human men.

Planet of the Apes is true!

what's with all the animals sexually assaulting (and, um, murdering) women lately? (see below.)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6954728.stm

One hump or two?

That aside, I don't think a camel is capable of "murder". It doesn't really have intent or regret. It was an accident. Oh, and it definitely wouldn't have happened if they let the camel stay in the wild.

OMG! Could this be the animal kingdom version of the pink pistol-toting roving lesbian gangs??

I have to say, it's really not funny. These people are stuck in a no win situation, and they're literally in danger of starving because of this. There are hundreds of these monkeys, and they're eating the crops and stealing them from storage.

UltraMagnus: They can't use weapons against the monkeys because it's against the law to harm or kill the monkeys. From the article: The town has been warned by the Kenya Wildlife Service not to harm or kill any of the monkeys, as it is a criminal offence.

And who knows how much access they'd have to weapons, anyway? A farmer can go to a local store buy a shotgun and some shells, and he's all set. I'm not so sure that a Kenyan farmer has that option.

Yeah, I'm with roymac. I read this article earlier and mostly felt sorry for these people.

Thanks roymacIII, eating and reading make you skip over things and re-reading it I see I missed a few key things. Sorry.

Well, that totally sucks for them and the government really does need to step up and help these people.

I can't believe that animal conservation comes before these people's right to food!! The wildlife service should be there sorting this out.

I can't believe that animal conservation comes before these people's right to food!! The wildlife service should be there sorting this out.

Can't you, though? I mean, the whole Michael Vick dog-fighting thing has drawn more wrath than any footballing rapist ever has, after all. The animal rights set are pretty vocal.

Roymac said it first, but this really isn't funny. Maybe the harassment is exaggerated, but this is a very serious situation for the people in this village. I have to say, I'm disappointed to see this kind of a take on this article on this blog.

As for the "harassment", it seems to me the animals are engaging in some sort of display of dominance, behavior. I work in a zoo, and that would be unsettling to me - and that's in a controlled environment. I can only imagine the stress I would feel if confronted with this behavior by a troupe of wild animals - in addition to the destruction they were doing to my food source.

Anyway, seriously, shame on you.

"I have to say, it's really not funny. These people are stuck in a no win situation, and they're literally in danger of starving because of this. There are hundreds of these monkeys, and they're eating the crops and stealing them from storage."

I agree. Meanwhile, I'm reminded of a BBC article a while ago about another group of farmers in Kenya (this time in Kiambu district) faced with wild animals (this time porcupines) eating their crops. Check out the range of responses:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4157330.stm

roymacIII, unfortunately, you are right, the Kenyan government, thanks to endless lobbying from environmentalists from the imperialist countries, won't let these farmers defend themselves and their crops.

However, that doesn't mean that these women can't arm themselves - it just means that it's illegal.

I'm sure that Kenya still has on it's books strict colonial-era gun control laws that bar poor Black people from having firearms.

But there's no restrictions on machetes, axes, or other knife-type weapons.

That might be the answer here - kill the monkeys with machetes, and then organize their fellow villagers to keep their mouths shut when the cops come.

After all, they can't arrest the whole village - and the police won't know who killed the monkeys unless somebody snitches.

In any case, they need to start killing these monkeys sooner rather than later, before they starve to death.

And, since the Kenyan government is in thrall to foreign environmentalists from rich countries, these women are going to have to take matters into their own hands!

"roymacIII, unfortunately, you are right, the Kenyan government, thanks to endless lobbying from environmentalists from the imperialist countries, won't let these farmers defend themselves and their crops."

That sucks. Preserving the environment at the expense of the people already in it (and vice versa) defeats the purpose. Now I'm wondering, maybe these suggestions for the porcupine problem (see the link I posted last time) might work for the monkey problem too?

"The Kenyan Wildlife Society should buy live porcupines captured by villagers at rewarding prices. Thereafter, they should relocate them to park areas where they will not be harmful to crops."

- Richard Minja, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

[are these monkeys trappable?]

"Some people here like them so much. And at first I thought the issue was that the creatures were under threat from poachers. Some farmers would really like them to raid their fields, because then it would really be a big day to catch delicious meat! You see it is illegal to kill them, but allowable if they are a menace to your crops."

- Your friend, Botswana

[it won't fix the current situation, but could adopting Botswana's approach stop this from happening all over again in Kenya?]

I don't even understand how the monkeys can tell the difference b/t adult males and adult females or why they would even care...Also if there were 20 to 30 monkeys at a time outside, I would be PETRIFIED to go outside, I don't know how these women are surviving... :(

"I don't even understand how the monkeys can tell the difference b/t adult males and adult females"

Well, probably the same way they could tell a difference between adult male or female monkeys (primarily chemical smell more than sight). Dogs do the same thing, as many dogs are more comfortable around females than males.

There was a case a year or two ago about an Orangutan on a nature reserve raping a Thai woman.

Komazawa Sports Park: The Komazawa Sports Park was prepared by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government initially for the Tokyo Olympic Games, but also as a sports centre to used by the citizens of Tokyo after the Olympic Games. If the Games of the 12th Olympiad in 1940 had been held in Tokyo as planned, the athletic venues, the swimming pools and the Olympic Village were to have been constructed at this site. With the unfortunate suspension of those 1940 Games due to the International situation at that time, the original plan was not materialized. The Komazawa Sports Park covers a total area of about 41 hectares—an area a little smaller than that under the original plan.

The volley-ball courts and certain grounds had already been constructed for the Third Asian Games. Most of these existing facilities were in fact however removed to construct the new large sports park. The basic plan for this was formulated by Professor Eika Takayama of the Engineering Department of Tokyo University, and the plan was implemented after making careful study of the various specific details. The Komazawa Sports Park, situated at a distance of about 9.1 kilometres from the Olympic Village, was connected with the Meiji Olympic Park by one of the principal roads. It has an equestrian park in its vicinity, and as the park is in a residential area, play-grounds for children were also included in the plan.

The facilities in the park, included an athletic ground, a gymnasium, an indoor volley-ball court, hockey grounds, football fields, (all these for the Olympic Games), swimming pools, volley-ball courts, several soft-ball baseball fields, a central plaza, a bus centre, a control tower and playgrounds for children. All these facilities were designed around the central square which, in turn, was separated from the traffic around the park by multi-level roads.

Several thousand forest trees and tens of thousands of shrubs were planted, and many flower-beds were prepared in the park to add beauty to the place.

The plan for the Komazawa Sports Park not only proved an important adjunct to the smooth operation of the Olympic Games but it has produced a delightful area that will contribute toward the wellbeing of the citizens of Tokyo in the future. Yoyogi Sports Centre: Situated close to the Yoyogi Village, this area is favoured with an excellent location. Covering a total area of about 12 hectares it included the multi-purpose National Gymnasium (Swimming), the annex of the National Gymnasium (Basket-Ball), and the Shibuya Public Hall (Weight-Lifting). In the vicinity also is the Kishi Memorial Hall (used as the Organizing Committee headquarters), the NHK Broadcasting Centre and the Yoyogi Olympic Village.