The monkeys stole your breakfast.

That's what we told our children one morning recently. We had planned to make hot dogs for their breakfast but the day before, monkeys stole the buns.

We live less than 200m from the forest edge in the Upper Thomson area and like many of our neighbours, we enjoy this proximity to the forest and the convenience of a quick walk along the forest trails.

We also enjoy the fauna - the wild boar, the musang, the occasional hornbill and the noisy cockatoos.

But not the monkeys or, more precisely, long-tailed macaques.

Since 2020, these pesky monkeys have been invading the residences, often going into houses to steal food, break pots, defecate and terrorise the house pets. On some weeks, we have almost daily reports.

Last week, a large troop was seen along the street, overturning the dustbins for food.

Many residents have lived here for many decades and they said this monkey invasion is a recent phenomenon.

In dialogues with the National Parks Board, we were told that along this 2km stretch, there are five distinct troops of macaques, each between 20 and 25 strong - that is between 100 and 125 monkeys in all harassing the neighbourhood.

Some of us were taught monkey guarding techniques but these are not effective in preventing them from coming back. Many of us now have to keep the doors and windows shut to prevent them from entering the house.

It is easy to talk about co-existence if you don't have to live with this problem on a daily basis. Many residents have expressed frustration with the lack of effective measures.

I don't see any alternatives but to relocate some of these monkeys, especially the more aggressive ones, and the sooner the better, before they hurt a young child or a house pet.

Yum Shoen Liang