03/05/2021
https://www.facebook.com/104895921025686/posts/284067989775144/?sfnsn=mo
🐒The Struggle to Help Macaques at Angkor Park🌴
3/4/2021
Filming the monkeys of Cambodia is a fun and fulfilling experience. When a new baby is born the Cameramen get a rush of excitement. They get to watch as monkeys take their first steps, first on the ground and then in the trees.
Cameramen love watching the monkeys grow up as they play above and learn to swim below them. They find the interactions between the monkeys just as fascinating as we do and they find a monkey in distress just as heartbreaking.
Watching a video where a monkey is clearly in need of medical intervention is very difficult for viewers who are helpless to do anything to help. It's not uncommon to see people asking in the comment sections of these videos, "Why don't you help?"
When I mentioned to a Cameraman I know that a few viewers had requested I write an article addressing why Cameramen are not always able to help, he was very forthcoming about answering.
He and I both hope that this article helps people to understand why Cameramen do not always help an injured or sick monkey.
Before I explain why the Videographers can't always help, it's important to understand where the monkeys live.
The monkey troops are living in and around the beautiful and majestic temples of the ancient Khmer Empire. As one of the few surviving Wonders of the Ancient World, Angkor is highly protected.
The Government agency protecting and running operations at Angkor is called APSARA, (Authority for the Protection of the Site and Management of the Region of Angkor). Angkor is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, APSARA receives funding from all over the world for the restoration and protection of the 402-acre historical site.
When a monkey is in physical distress the cameramen are very worried because they love these monkeys. They have watched them grow from the moment of birth and have fed and protected these monkeys every day. They urgently want to help them but before they can do more than offer food and water they need authorization from The APSARA Authority. A stack of paperwork must be filled out before a monkey can be removed from Angkor and taken to see a Veterinarian.
A Cameraman friend of mine explained the process to me and related this story about baby monkey Calvin. For those of you who don't remember Calvin, he was a baby monkey born in Mila troop last April. Calvin fell to the ground when he was born and his mother would not accept him. Nursing mom Cassie tried to adopt him but could not keep up with feeding two babies. Calvin was starving to death and urgently needed help.
Here is what the Cameraman said happened while they tried to help Calvin.
"Early last year when we wanted to bring Calvin to the vet, the authorities didn't allow us to do that. They said there were a lot of processes to write letters to their leaders asking permission."
By the time APSARA gave permission for Cameramen to help baby Calvin, it was too late. He died before they could get him to a veterinarian.
The question next in my mind was why the process was so difficult. Why were Cameramen taking monkeys out of Angkor at all?
The Cameraman explained, "There are no Vets responsible for treating sick monkeys in the Apsara Authority. They said they are afraid of the monkey trade when letting VOs take sick monkeys for treatment but they themselves don't have the service for treating sick animals."
There are monkeys carved on the ancient walls of the temples. They have been residents of Angkor for at least 900 years, so why doesn't APSARA have a Veterinarian on the payroll?
Part of the reason for all of the time-consuming paperwork, as the Cameraman pointed out, was the worry that a Wildlife Trafficker would steal a monkey.
Once Cameramen are granted approval from APSARA to assist a specific monkey, they move on to the next step. They arrange to meet both APSARA and Cambodian Forestry employees at the monkey troop to safely pick up the monkey being helped.
The Cameramen have to weigh the risks when they decide to help a monkey. Once a decision is made to remove a monkey for medical treatment there is a great deal of planning that goes into the operation. This planning is crucial for the safety of the monkeys as well as the people helping them.
Although they are friendly, the monkeys are wild animals, they can be unpredictable when a human is trying to catch one of them. The entire troop will defend a single baby monkey if they perceive a threat.
The Cameraman mentioned the risks involved with handling monkeys without specialized training and related this recent example.
"Monkeys attack the helpers. This is another problem when we have no skills to help monkeys, e.g. Mr.M. (a cameraman) was bitten by monkeys when he tried to help Jinx."
The Videographers are constantly monitoring the troops for dangerous situations. They are concerned that without their vigilance the monkeys would quickly fall prey to illegal trapping. Temple monkeys rely on tourists to supplement their diets. The pandemic has resulted in a shortage of food that makes a banana in a trap too tempting a treat to ignore.
Cameramen being denied access to film Mila has resulted in devastating effects for the monkey troop. According to the Videographer,
"Poachers are around, looking for chances to poach monkeys. No one has been arrested for poaching monkeys.
We have had no access to the Mila group since June 2020. 10 monkeys were listed as being trapped or had disappeared and 3 were injured. Recently we looked but didn't see 2 other babies; Christino (the orphaned baby of Christin) and Tanya (the baby of Tana). They both probably disappeared last week."
The Cameramen have protected and cared for these monkeys since birth. They are heartbroken that APSARA will not allow them to help. Yet they do nothing to prevent the deterioration of this, until recently, thriving group of wild monkeys. It's horrifying that over just a few months the lack of care and protection from Videographers has led to such overwhelming damage in the Mila troop family of macaques!
There will always be debates for and against assisting the Temple Monkeys.
Some people feel monkeys should be left alone to let nature take its course. Others believe that lacking professional wildlife experts in the park, APSARA should coordinate with the Cameramen in protecting the macaques.
Retractors constantly accuse the Cameramen of causing injuries, of drugging Jane, and have even falsely accused them of poisoning the water they give to the monkeys.
All of the Cameramen I spoke to agree that APSARA should embrace the monkeys as part of the overall experience of visiting Angkor. Visitors to the temples enjoy feeding the monkeys so much that APSARA approved the sale of produce vendors inside the park.
For now, the Cameramen are on their own. Please understand that they are doing their best. I for one think they are doing a wonderful job protecting the monkeys with very little support and constant opposition.
My heartfelt gratitude goes out to the Videographer who openly and honestly discussed issues with me for this article. Thank you, Sir.
Written by Lorry Kaller
