Nepal’s farmers carved farms into the Himalayas, but now this growing problem is destroying their harvests and triggering a wildlife crisis

Nepal’s farmers are increasingly struggling with crop damage caused by rhesus macaques and other wildlife. Rural migration has left fewer people available to protect valuable agricultural harvests, while macaques can consume nearly half of some farmers’ maize crops each year. Changes in habitat and limited natural food sources may be driving the animals towards farmland. Addressing the problem will require solutions that take into account wildlife conservation, agricultural livelihoods and rural migration.