After monkey raids claimed hundreds of pineapples at her hillside farm in Yunlin County’s Linnei Township (林內), Liao Yueh-ying (廖月瑛) started using “Jigsaw” scarecrows, which she styled after the fictional serial killer from the horror franchise Saw, to protect her crop.
Marauding bands of wild monkeys have eaten or smashed about 260 pineapples between the middle of last month and late this month, Liao said on Thursday.
The loss was particularly galling, because it was almost harvest time, she said.
Photo: Chan Shih-hung, Taipei Times
“It feels bad to find unripened pineapples that the monkeys had picked up and thrown away, but it is even worse to see what is left of the ripe ones,” she said.
Seven or eight years ago, monkeys used to appear singly or in pairs, which posed little trouble to farmers, but they have recently started to appear in packs of 30 or more, Liao said.
Worse yet, the monkeys have no fear of people, she said.
Using firecrackers was somewhat effective, but impractical, as it would have cost the farm about NT$13,000 until harvest time and requires someone to be on patrol at all times, she said.
It was her son, a high-school student, who gave her the idea to use scary scarecrows.
Using “Jigsaw” masks, mannequins and plastic rain cloaks, she made several scarecrows, she said.
There are also several “Hulk” scarecrows, inspired by the Marvel comics character, around her farm, she said.
The scarecrows seem to be effective and she has not seen a monkey in the three days since she put them up, Liao said, adding that she plans to put up more scarecrows and change their positions frequently to keep the monkeys away.
“I do not know about monkeys, but they gave me a good scare,” a local resident said.
“Farming is difficult enough without having all these monkeys mucking about,” Linnei Mayor Chang Wei-cheng (張維崢) said. “Top government officials should rethink their wildlife protection policy.”
The township office said it is increasing the budget to help keep monkeys off the farms and buy firecrackers, he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as