Meet M’sia’s Latest NOPE, The Rat-Eating Monkeys Who Are Saving Oil Palm

We couldn’t believe our eyes when this came to attention. Perhaps, you’re wondering what capital-N ‘nope’ got us all worked up today. Well, it’s RAT EATING MONKEYS!

Source: newyorkpost

I don’t know which is scarier, the one eating or being eaten.

Scientists were shocked to find out these macaques were chomping on large rats like they were keropok lekor at oil palm plantations. According to Nadine Ruppert of  Universiti Sains Malaysia, these southern pig-tailed macaques usually consume fruits, and even if they opt for a meaty diet, it’s usually just lizards or small birds. I guess it’s bulking season?

Source: discoverlife

In a report that done from January 2016 to September 2018 in the Segari Melintang Forest Reserve, around 44 monkeys killed 3,000 rats per year! In case you did the math (We know you didn’t, so we did it for you), that’s 70 rats per monkey. The monkeys would hunt the rats while the rats are hiding in the trees by uncovering the cavities in oil palm trunks.

Source:gizmodo

However, there’s a huge upside to all this as the roles of these macaques have been reversed. They used to be pests, but they’re now pest control agents who eat rats – essential for the industry as the rats damage 10% of oil palm crops. Scientists hope that these developments will lead to more habitats for these macaques and the protection of these primates will be seriously considered.

Now all that is left is one question, when will these killer monkeys discover we humans are quite tasty too….

Also read: Rare Dusky Leaf Monkeys in Penang Threatened by Habitat Loss And Overdevelopment