A disagreement between a woman and her neighbours over feeding monkeys in a residential park has ignited a wider conversation on social media about wildlife conservation, urban expansion, and public safety.
The incident, captured in a viral video circulating online, shows residents objecting to the woman's decision to feed mangoes to monkeys that regularly visit the neighbourhood. The confrontation quickly escalated into a heated exchange, with both sides defending their positions.
"Why didn't you stop me all these years?"
In the video, neighbours can be heard asking the woman to stop feeding the monkeys inside the park, arguing that the practice creates problems for residents.
Responding to their objections, the woman questioned why the issue had only been raised now.
"Why didn't you stop me all these years? Please speak to me properly," she said during the exchange.
Despite the objections, she continued walking towards the park carrying a bag of mangoes, explaining that she had been feeding the monkeys for many years because they had been living in the area long before the housing colony was developed.
Woman says humans occupied the animals' habitat
Explaining her perspective, the woman argued that the monkeys were not newcomers but long-time inhabitants whose natural habitat had gradually been replaced by human settlements.
She recalled that one resident even asked whether the park belonged to her father. In response, she maintained that she was only trying to feed hungry animals and was not causing harm to anyone.
The woman also said she chose to speak up during the latest confrontation because she believed people had become less compassionate towards wildlife.
She later addressed the neighbours directly, urging them to show empathy for the animals and insisting that feeding them was not wrong.
According to her, humans had settled in what was once the monkeys' habitat, and she was not expecting anyone else to share the responsibility or expense of feeding them.
Social media divided over the incident
The video has generated mixed reactions online.
Many users appreciated the woman's concern for the monkeys, saying rapid urbanisation has significantly reduced natural habitats and increased encounters between people and wild animals.
Others, however, argued that regularly feeding wild monkeys in residential areas can have unintended consequences. Several commenters pointed out that repeated feeding may encourage monkeys to associate humans with food, increasing their visits to neighbourhoods and sometimes leading to aggressive behaviour when food is unavailable.
Some users suggested that wildlife feeding, if carried out at all, should take place only in appropriate or designated locations to reduce the risk of conflict between animals and residents.
