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SINGAPORE – The authorities have responded to a spate of cases involving wild monkeys entering flats in Punggol by culling some, sterilising others and conducting exercises to herd the animals back into nature areas.

Northern Punggol, a fairly new residential area and home to the new Singapore Institute of Technology campus,

has been a hot spot for the long-tailed macaques

The area was previously forested, and monkeys are forest fringe creatures that move between forest patches in search of food and territory.

Between Sept 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025, the National Parks Board (NParks) received around 200 reports relating to macaques in Punggol.

Besides sightings, other cases involved intrusions into homes and rummaging of rubbish bins, said its group director of wildlife management How Choon Beng.

“For public safety, the majority of the 50 macaques trapped in the Punggol vicinity (in 2024) were sterilised and released back to Coney Island Park as part of our long-term management effort,” Mr How said on May 19, in response to queries from The Straits Times.

“The remaining aggressive macaques that were not suitable for translocation were euthanised humanely.” These include intrusive monkeys that show a repeated pattern of returning to housing estates and entering homes for food.?

This sheds light on what National Development Minister Desmond Lee

said on the matter in a written parliamentary reply in March

He said most of the 50 monkeys in Punggol that had been trapped were sterilised, while those that showed more aggressive or intrusive behaviour were “removed” in view of public safety.

Mr Lee’s statement had prompted the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) and the Jane Goodall Institute (Singapore) to conduct an outreach in end-March.

This includes telling Punggol residents what to do if they encounter a troop of monkeys and reminding them to avoid carrying plastic bags.?

NPark’s Mr How said the sterilisation programme for the long-tailed macaques in Punggol and Coney Island Park started in 2023. This was after surveys showed that the macaque population was trending higher, coupled with an increase in public feedback on the macaques.?

He added that NParks has been working closely with the town council in Punggol, providing advisory posters and recommending more frequent estate cleaning and monkey-proof bin designs, among other measures.?

Exposed bins and food tend to attract more monkeys to an area, and so does illegal feeding.

When ST visited three HDB blocks in Punggol Northshore on April 14, several residents said they had seen neighbours throwing food such as fruits and buns out of their windows for macaques.?

Mr How said enforcement efforts are also undertaken to deter illegal wildlife feeding activities.

Under the Wildlife Act, first-time offenders caught feeding wildlife could be fined up to $5,000, and repeat offenders could be fined up to $10,000.

The authorities are also continuing with regular patrols to herd macaque troops back into forested areas.?

To try to divert the monkeys away from urban food sources, NParks has also planted more native fruiting trees at Coney Island Park, for the monkeys to feed on.?

“We have observed the macaques foraging and feeding on the fruit of mature trees such as the sea almond,” said Mr How.?

“We are also continuing to work with relevant authorities and community leaders on a multi-pronged approach to minimise human sources of food, and expanding outreach and engagements to the residents at Punggol on what to do when encountering macaques,” he added.?

Acres chief executive Kalaivanan Balakrishnan said the macaque issue in Punggol is “very likely to constantly happen, all the time”.?

“Punggol is still a relatively new development that has happened in the last decade, especially this particular area, which is facing the sea... The way Punggol has developed, a lot of the animals have nowhere to go.”

He added: “Sometimes the monkeys have been (deemed) aggressive, of course, when they are just being opportunistic.”

On the culling, primatologist Andie Ang questioned what constitutes “aggressive behaviour” by the macaques and what were the circumstances that led to cases of intrusion.

Dr Ang, who heads Mandai Nature’s primate conservation and Singapore programmes and is president of the Jane Goodall Institute (Singapore),?said she had observed elsewhere a resident throwing food out of the window to feed pigeons, which resulted in monkeys climbing into the home as well as neighbouring units.

If people stop feeding the monkeys – intentionally or unintentionally – “we can prevent such intrusions from happening”, she added.

She also encouraged residents to take measures such as meshing or closing their windows.

“I would like to seek the residents’ empathy with the situation that the monkeys and other wildlife are facing in Punggol, which is the rapid loss of available habitats.”

Troops of monkeys have been scaling housing blocks such as 435B, 433B and 436A in Northshore Drive, which are close to the coast of Punggol and Coney Island.

After returning from a quick grocery run on April 10, Mr Nor Azmi Asuat and his wife – who live on the fourth storey of Block 433B – were shocked to see their kitchen in a mess.

Food items and plastic containers were strewn across the floor, and sauces were dripping down the cabinets.?

At first, Mr Azmi, 67, thought the house had been burgled, but later realised a monkey had sneaked in, since only the kitchen was in a shambles.

While he had closed the living room window, he did not lock it.?

“The (gap between the) window grilles were wide enough for the monkey to squeeze through. It was my mistake also, for leaving the window unlocked.

“I wonder if I should put some wire mesh,” said the retired security guard.

Another resident who lives on the sixth storey of the same block had a similar encounter with a couple of monkeys in March.

Two monkeys had slipped into his kitchen, and were grabbing a packet of sweets when the home owner – who declined to reveal his name – found them.?

“They had torn the packet and taken some sweets. I took the packet back and closed the window. A packet of biscuits was also torn open,” said the resident, a manager, who lives with his young daughter.?

He sometimes leaves the kitchen window open while drying clothes.

While he foresees similar incidents happening again, the resident does not fault the monkeys.

“You might be upset if they mess up your house. But if you look from the other angle, we took their home. They lost their habitats and their natural food sources.

“That’s why we became their food source. I don’t blame them,” he said.?

Mr Kalaivanan?said he hopes that, with support from organisations like Acres and the Jane Goodall Institute (Singapore), residents can shift their mindset on wildlife and coexist peacefully with the macaques.

“I strongly believe that more intensive outreach efforts are needed to raise awareness among residents about appropriate behaviour around macaques... I sincerely hope that no more macaques will need to be euthanised,” he added.