Hong Kong - Officials ponder 'mind the monkey' signs

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Officials ponder 'mind the monkey' signs

 

November 26 2004 at 12:57PM

 

Hong Kong - Road chiefs are considering erecting signs urging motorists to

beware of monkeys in a Hong Kong country park where simian road kills are a

growing worry, a media report said on Friday.

 

Mind-the-monkey signs were proposed after three macaques were found dead on

Thursday on roads in the northern New Territories park.

 

The deaths have concerned wildlife chiefs who say they could usually only

expect to find one or two dead each month.

 

Monkeys are increasingly interacting with humans in the southern Chinese

enclave as rapid urban development brushes up against their previously

undisturbed habitats.

 

On Tuesday a group of tourists in another country park were " terrorised " by

a group of 30-40 monkeys.

 

Wildlife experts say rural hikers and dwellers are most at risk of attack

from male monkeys, which are becoming more aggressive as their traditional

mate-hunting grounds are destroyed by developers.