Abstract
In Nishimeya Village, Aomori Prefecture, northern Honshu, Japan, where arable lands and apple orchards have been heavily damaged by Japanese Monkeys Macaca fuscata, a project was conducted to reduce the damage by involving eighty-three volunteers to patrol and drive monkeys away in the autumns of 2002 and 2003. The ecological and ethological effects of this project were evaluated by radio-tracking a troop composed of around 40 individuals, with two radio-marked individuals between August 2001 and July 2004. The monkey patrols resulted in: 1) shifting part of the troop memberships into the inner forested area, 2) heightening their sensitivity to humans, and 3) changing their pattern of habitat use. Although such influences of the patrols on the animals may contribute to reducing crop damage, no range shift was found and the effect disappeared with time after the end of the project.
