Pagoda monkeys faced with famine again in Kyauktaw

By Admin 21 Jun 2023

DMG Newsroom
21 June 2023, Kyauktaw

Facing famine in the aftermath of Cyclone Mocha, moneys living on Thaylar Giri Mawra Patta Mountain, a famous pilgrimage site in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township, are being forced down the mountain and can be found asking for food from passersby, according to the local pagoda board of trustees.

Monkeys at the pagoda, also known as Kyauktaw Mountain Pagoda, are mainly fed by pilgrims. Monkeys have been facing near starvation as few people are visiting the pagodas these days.

Monkeys down from the mountain are congregating to beg for food from passersby on the Kisspanadi Bridge spanning the Kaladan River, said U Kyaw Kyaw, a member of the pagoda board of trustees.

“Fewer than 10 pilgrims are visiting the pagoda a day lately. So, monkeys are facing starvation. So, they go down the mountain to beg for food from passersby on the Kissapanadi Bridge. Some people were hit and killed by cars,” he said.

The monkeys are even eating rice now, an unusual dietary choice, according to one pilgrim.

Dr. Kyawt Thar Sein, a resident of Sittwe, said: “We visited Kyauktaw Mountain Pagoda on June 12. The monkeys were starving. They ate up one pyi of rice that I brought there in a few minutes. Many other monkeys could not grab it. They were a pitiful sight.”

Many fruit trees were blown down by Cyclone Mocha, which hit Arakan State lain mid-May, which has made it more difficult for monkeys to acquire food, said residents.

“We went to Mount Kyauktaw on May 17, after the storm. We saw that many trees were broken, and buildings on the mountain had also collapsed. There were no other visitors,” said Sittwe resident Ko Aung Min Thu.

The mountain is home to around 1,000 monkeys. They have also faced food insecurity during previous armed conflicts and amid the Covid-19 pandemic as few visitors visited the pagoda then.