TACKLE THE ROOT CAUSE
Wildlife specialist Joe Kam, who said he handles four to five cases of civet encounters a week, said it will be difficult to avoid animal encounters in the “Garden City” – especially when much of the country is built on former forested areas.
He pointed out that people can mesh up the crevices in their roofs, so it is tougher for wildlife to enter.
He said the accumulation of their waste can also be a hygiene issue as they tend to nest closest to their food sources.
For those looking for a solution, Mr Kam said tackling the root of the issue is key.
“Removal is just a quick fix, but ultimately, we have to understand – why are the snakes here? Why did the snake come here, specifically? What’s the attraction?” he added.
“And when you ask enough ‘why’s, you will get to the root cause, and then when you address the root cause, subsequently, anything going after will eventually be gone.”
That was exactly what Ms Viji Vijayan, a longtime Upper Thomson resident, did to address the problem of monkeys that flocked to a mango tree outside her home.
She then worked with her neighbours and the authorities to replace it with a non-fruit bearing tree.
“They used to come almost every day in big batches – like six or seven with babies and everything, like a family, when the mango tree was there.
“Now, they come maybe one or two monkeys at a time, maybe once a week at the most because there’s not much food,” she said.
