Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
The community apparently felt that those measures had little effect on the ani-
mals compared to trapping, firing weapons and shooting them.
Palau's National Invasive Species Committee, NISS, began “Operation
Counter-Invasion” in 2006 (Anon,
2007
). This project was developed by local
communities and multiple organizations after initiation by the President of
the Republic of Palau. It received $100,000 from the government of Taiwan.
The two highest priority species identified by this committee were a vine
(
Merremia peltata
) and (
Macaca fascicularis
). An expert in invasive mam-
mal eradication, Mr. Karl Campbell, according to the summary report, sub-
mitted his recommendations “leading to eventual eradication of macaques
from the Republic” (Anon,
2007
). The Ministry of Justice also improved
the enforcement of existing laws prohibiting transport of monkeys to other
islands. Several other projects were also mentioned in this report that focused
on preserving Palau's marine ecosystems. The NISS also began a Macaque
Sterilization Project in 2007 that completed a pet macaque sterilization pro-
ject in November of 2009 (Miles,
2009
). The third phase will be the eradica-
tion campaign on Ngeaur.
Benefits of macaques
It is difficult to find any references to the benefits that the macaques offer on
Ngeaur, but there were a few individuals who said that they were a good tourist
attraction. Several other informants mentioned that macaques are intelligent,
funny, and can provide companionship (Marsh-Kautz and Singeo,
1999
). One
of the chiefs told us that monkeys should not be viewed as a special natural
resource, but he admitted that even he might keep a few monkeys around for
tourists. This chief wanted to encourage more tourism on Ngeaur. He espe-
cially pointed to the additional employment opportunities that tourists provide
for the local people such as being tour guides, preparing food, and renting the
guest houses. Tourists also buy food and other supplies at the store. A sakura-
kai or community organization exists to handle tourism and provide food for
tourists. Tourists from many different countries signed the guestbook at the
beachside guest house and mentioned that they enjoyed seeing the monkeys.
Researchers drawn to the island to study monkeys have added to these visitor
numbers. Tourists of all types have engaged in mutual beneficial interactions
with the local people thus connecting all in a more global world (Marsh-Kautz
and Wheatley,
2004
). A survey conducted on Ngeaur reported by Marsh-Kautz
and Singeo (1999) found that while most gardeners dislike macaques, some
of the younger adults are becoming more accepting of macaques. Half of the
respondents however, wanted the macaques eradicated. We were also told of
