Monkey Year tourists too matey with primates

MONKEY BUSINESSES GO BANANAS

The macaques are not native to the mountain. After being rescued from a band of smugglers, a group of macaques was freed onto Qishan's slopes a decade ago. They were soon bringing in tourists, helping to revitalize an economy that was in the doldrums after the closure of a state-managed logging business that employed most of the villagers.

The monkeys spend most of the year in tourists spots, where they hoover up snacks fed to them by visitors.

Wu Yuxi, a breeder hired by the local tourist administration, has noted a significant rise in visitors since February. His job includes preparing a monkey breakfast of corn every morning and occasionally driving away his charges when they threaten to attack tourists.

Similar enthusiasm is sweeping Mount Emei, Sichuan Province, whose administrators are offering free entrance to anyone born in the Year of the Monkey and are planning to add new monkey viewing platforms to cater to demand.

But they have also tried to limit monkeys' time with the tourists, after they noticed the animals were getting fat and lazy on a diet of junk food. They have also had a spate of reports of tourists being attacked by monkeys.

"There are docile monkeys and there are also ferocious ones. We have to remind tourists to be careful and encourage them to buy our monkey fodder, not use their own food," said Zhou Chuanbin, a tourism manager for Mount Emei.

A forestry official at Qishan Mountain said injuries arising from visitors getting too close to the monkeys were becoming so common that his department was reluctant to advertise the monkeys for fear of shouldering more compensation.

In an email response to Xinhua, WWF said public viewing of wild animals should not be allowed to disrupt their lives. "We hope tourists can avoid feeding, teasing wild animals or littering their habitats," it said.