This not-for-profit is giving monkeys a shot at living in the wild

These tiny bonnet macaques wouldn’t survive without their mothers or their troops. Their rescuers were sure of that. Who would nurture them or teach them to find food or fight rivals for territory? Bonnet macaques are social animals and best survive in the troops into which they are born, formed by related females. A few males usually find another tribe, but only after they mature. Every monkey has a role in the group. A few nurture the young, some protect them from harm. There is also a leader who keeps everyone in check. The structure ensures security. Monkeys born in cities or its fringes, like Shoora and Veera, also have to deal with urban stressors—dog bites, electrocution and death by consuming food not meant for them. The danger of being taken captive by a madari (animal trainer), tied up and beaten for the rest of their lives is real too.

Even if none of this happened to Shoora and Veera, they, like hundreds of other monkeys across the country, would likely spend a lifetime in captivity in state-run animal orphanages or zoos. But Shoora and Veera’s fate might turn out to be different. They will get a real shot at living in the wild due to the efforts of their rescuers from the Mumbai-based not-for-profit organisation Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare, or RAWW.

The organisation, founded in 2013, has been rewilding bonnet macaques (Macaca radiate), rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and grey langurs (Semnopithecus) since 2019. The organisation works with the local administration and the state forest department of Maharashtra, also taking in animals and insects, including monkeys, rescued by the department’s officers.

Their work involves rescuing, rehabilitating and then systematically regrouping orphaned, abandoned single monkeys from around Maharashtra. Once these monkeys establish a troop, they are released in the wild in areas that are conducive to their survival. They are then monitored for a few days to check how they are coping in the new environment, explains Pawan Sharma, founder and president of RAWW.

Thus far, the group of 60 volunteers has rewilded about 30 monkeys in Maharashtra. The entire process takes a year or more. It also involves extensive behavioural studies, regular health check-ups, nutrition plans, a few trials and errors and an army of people who must raise the monkeys, bring them up like their own, and then nudge the animals away so to live their lives back in the wild.

It starts with rescue. RAWW’s team has had to rescue monkeys from madaris, homes, buildings, forests. Some of the monkeys don’t make it. “Monkeys who have been electrocuted and suffered dog bites or those who have spent years in captivity and are malnourished have lower chances of surviving despite our efforts," says Ritu Sharma, an animal rehabilitator with RAWW. Shoora and Veera were rescued soon after they were born and taken to a veterinarian.

“When they came to me, they were terrified. Veera couldn’t even regulate her body temperature," says Priti Sathe, a veterinarian, who checks RAWW’s patients for free; but medicines and surgeries have to be paid for. The two did not have infections or serious injuries. Sathe recommended a human infant diet and care. So, Shoora and Veera went to RAWW volunteer Sanskriti Baptista Poojary’s Andheri home to live with the businesswoman, her husband and parents. Poojary, 31, is among four monkey fosters that the organisation currently has. Poojary has been fostering birds and insects since she was in school. It’s the first time she is taking care of monkeys after being trained in the same by the NGO’s experts.

“They are just like human babies. They need warmth, love and lots of attention," says Poojary. “They are all over my house, climbing things, jumping over furniture, trying to open the refrigerator and opening bags and purses."

Shoora and Veera are now six months and three-and-a-half-months old, respectively. Poojary never calls them by their given names. The names are only for their human team for reference, explains Pawan Sharma. “We don’t want the monkeys to associate with any word or name, as that’s not how it happens in the wild." The monkeys will be emotionally and physically fit to leave Poojary’s home by the second week of October. They will be taken to RAWW’s centre in Badlapur, on the outskirts of Mumbai, to be quarantined for a few days. Once they are familiar with the place, they will be moved to small cages. A few days after, the cages will be moved into a larger enclosure, which currently has four to five other monkeys. Three are about six months old.

The RAWW team hopes that the five will accept Shoora and Veera into their troop as well. “Only when the older monkeys start interacting with them and are amicable towards them will we let them out of the cage, minimising the chances of fights and injuries," says Pawan Sharma. Once in the big enclosure, Shoora and Veera will start getting ready for the real world. Their human caretakers will hide their food, which they must find. Once in a while, they will not be given any food in order to teach them how to survive on leaves and even bugs.

“These exercises are important to build instincts to survive the wild," says Ritu Sharma. These exercises will also help them establish a social hierarchy, interact with each other and form a troop, which is the ultimate goal. After spending a year in the enclosure, exposed to different seasons, the monkeys will be released in the wild. The group will be released in an area where there is no or limited threat of predators or rival gangs, yet with an ecosystem that’s conducive for their survival. Soham Mukherjee, a wildlife specialist, has his doubts about the rewilding efforts. “I am not too sure if hand-raised monkeys can ever survive in the wild," he says. “Also, releasing them in the wild could also add to the man-animal conflict in that area, especially because these monkeys are a lot more comfortable with humans," he adds.

Pawan Sharma admits that these monkeys’ survival instincts and skills may not be as strong as those who were raised in the wild, but it’s good enough to live in a carefully chosen landscape. In India, one is legally not allowed to place trackers on monkeys. So, there is no scientific method of tracking their survival. But RAWW usually creates a network of local volunteers who track the monkeys in the areas they are released in. The Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation in Assam is another organisation that re-wilds rescued monkeys. “Animals are more resilient and adaptable than we know. They do adjust to their new surroundings and strive to live," says Pawan Sharma.

Baiju Raj, head of conservation at conservation non-profit Wildlife SOS seconds Pawan Sharma. “I have known of a female rhesus macaque adopting orphans and raising them as her own, and I have also seen these primates learn to co-exist with one another," says Raj. Having said that, the post-rewilding monitoring process is limited. “They are not revered in the way tigers or lions are in the world of wildlife conservation. The funds are limited, the efforts huge and there is hardly any recognition. But hardly anyone is advocating for them and thinking about their lives. So we are," says Ritu Sharma.

Aunil Limaye, former chief wildlife warden with Maharashtra’s forest department lauds RAWW’s efforts. “This project not just helps the monkeys but also mitigates the man-monkey conflict in the cities, and helps reduce forest department’s workload," he says.

Riddhi Doshi is Mumbai-based art, culture, travel and lifestyle writer.