It's been raining so much for the past week, that they're having difficulty finding any fruit to eat. Most fruit (what was left in the trees) now lies on the ground spoiling after the heavy rains.
What to eat? What to eat? What to eat?
The monkeys do brave the raindrops when they abate. They sit on my neighbour's wall and ponder what to eat. They then make their way to the only source of food available now.......the many wild River Tamarind trees (Leucaena leucocephala) that grow along the edge of the quarry.Here on the island, the River Tamarinds are considered invasive weeds, and they are destroyed whenever a seedling is sighted anywhere near your property. These small trees are very hard to get rid of since they produce multiple shoots when cut back. I have had some success killing them with old gasoline. They have a good laugh at all the high strength herbicides.
They are prolific seed producers, with dark brown seed pods about 6" long and about 20 seeds inside each one.
Lets write that equation down: Twenty seeds x hundreds of seed pods = a never-ending battle.
Leucaena leucocephala
River Tamarind- Myamosee - Lead tree
The white fluffy flowers
The pods are green at first
Too young for the monkeys to consume
The brown pods which the monkeys devour
Until the fruit trees in the area start producing mature fruit, Brazen and crew will be having these pods for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The River Tamarind has had the distinction of holding the weed of the month in Florida at one point here.
An interesting article on the river tamarind here.
Considering all the damage Brazen has done, a brief diet won't hurt him at all. By eating the seed pods, he'll be reducing the future tamarind population.
ReplyDeleteA brief diet of seed pods indeed....I can see the guavas on my neighbour's tree getting nice and big, and guess what....Brazen has seen them too!
DeleteI was thinking the same as Tammy. Maybe if the monkeys devour enough seeds they'll help control the River Tamarind. But then, maybe if they don't fully digest the seeds, they'll help spread them.
ReplyDeleteYou're probably right about the "shitty" dispersal of seeds....no wonder the plant is uncontrollable....a vicious cycle.
DeleteI want monkeys in my yard!! Can YOU eat the tamarind? In mexico they mix tamarind with chile powder....DEELISH! Could they be the same?
ReplyDeleteIt's not the same tamarind as the edible tamarind which we use here to make sweets and sauces and juices. This is the wild kind that the monkeys consume.
DeleteNow tamarind and chile powder that's an idea.
Be careful what you wish for Linda, I could send you these monkeys, but you'd want to ship them back to me in a week.
I'm usually quite soft-hearted but somehow I just can't bring myself to feel too sorry for Brazen. Ask Mr B. I bet he's not losing any sleep over Brazen. Come to think of it he's not losing any sleep.
ReplyDeleteDespite the horrors that Brazen and crew have put me through, I've still got a soft spot in my heart tucked away for them.
DeleteI am always cognisant of the fact that we are to blame for taking away their natural habitat and building houses where they used to freely roam.