John&Jacq~s Garden

September 2010: Monkey business at our backyard!

Our Sugar Apple (Annona squamosa) tree started bearing fruits since early July and got us really excited as it had been sometime since the last harvest.

Though only numbered about half a dozen fruits that were somewhat much reduced in size since produced by an aging potted tree, we awaited eagerly to savour the ripened ones.

But sadly it wasn’t meant to be as wild monkeys prowling behind our backyard outran us! Aargh! They must have targeted the fruits for sometime. Though unripe, they unknowingly made a beeline for them inside our compound and exited as fast when we weren’t watching. Thank God it must have been times when our pet dog, Maxi, was having his afternoon siesta too, otherwise he’ll be no match against the matured and aggressive monkeys who are slightly larger in size than him.

Look at the three-quarter ripened fruit and the remnants of another in the large pot pictured above – that’s monkey business all the way!

Everyday, from early morning till late evening, they’re frequently trouping along the back lane, outside our backyard scouting for whatever they can feed on. That’s the outcome of being chased out from their natural habitat by humans who cleared jungles and forests indiscriminately to make way for residential and industrial development. Pitiful, right?

Hence, indirectly, we’re the ones harassed now! No end to monkey business and disturbances, most often at our backyard, though sometimes too at our frontyard, taking a dip in our buckets of stored water.

Fathers, mothers and families going about their ever frequent leisure walks on the ground, as well as high up on rooftops or telephone cables, seemingly without a care in the world! But, we know and can see that they are hungry and desperate!

Our pet dog doesn’t know that! He just can’t stand the sight of them. So, there’s incessant barking which is sharp and ferocious whenever the monkeys are around, creating such a ruckus and disturbing the peace and quietness around! Aargh, sometimes that becomes too unbearable! It’s impossible to prevent the hungry monkeys from visiting as it is to train Maxi to accept them as his friends!

Nonetheless, I do enjoy taking snapshots of these visitors behind our backyard and observe their antics. They just love irritating Maxi – purposely walking alongside our backyard, rubbing their body against our chain-link fence and gate as they glide by! What a tease they are!

Here’s sharing some more photos of them! Enjoy!

Hehe…it must be wondering why the flower has ‘whiskers’ like his!

I like the last three images in the collage above. This frequent visitor had me engrossed with its curiosity! It grabbed hold of a Hippeastrum leaf, felt the texture, smelt it and then checked its fingers…guess some sap had stained them. So like a human, huh!

Last edit: June 5, 2016

Tags: our garden, wildlife