‘We are going to self-destruct’: Development plans threaten Malaysian island

LANGKAWI, Malaysia – In the UNESCO-listed Kilim Karst Geopark in Langkawi, a man in T-shirt and shorts laughs with his friends as one of the long-tailed macaques that are ubiquitous across the Malaysian island leaps onto their boat to snatch a bag of chips from his hands. The gray-furred mugger joins the rest of its troop on the twisted roots and branches of the mangrove trees along the bank, thrusts its paw into the crackly bag and gobbles up the food. Beneath the monkeys’ feet, evidence of past raids is only partly concealed in the mud. The boat resumes its journey with the men still joking about their close encounter with the local wildlife. The macaques, which will eat almost anything, idly groom each other while keeping watch on the passing humans in the hope of another snack. In addition to the macaques waiting for handouts, white-bellied eagles, usually solitary hunters, gather en masse in the treetops to swoop down on meat thrown from tourist boats. “It’s a problem,” sighs Atika, the young guide with a degree in biodiversity who’s leading a tour of the area for JungleWalla, a company that prides itself on its commitment to conservation and environmental best practice. The animals “develop a dependence and see humans as an easy source of food,” she says. In addition to altering wildlife behavior, human presence is having other effects on Langkawi’s delicate environment. Waves caused by speeding boats are eroding the shores of the mangrove forest, and in some…

from Conservation news https://ift.tt/2I3eAVm
via IFTTT