SINGAPORE — Forget swinging through the trees. A troop of long-tailed macaques in Singapore appears to have found a new pastime: taking apart streetlights.
The unusual scene unfolded along Old Upper Thomson Road on September 21, where macaques were filmed climbing onto roadside lampposts, twisting off cylindrical equipment and dropping some components onto the road.
Others carried the removed parts away, appearing to examine them on the roadside.
Photographs and video showed the animals working on several lamp posts along the forested road, with at least three or four fixtures initially observed being stripped of equipment.
The ‘Monkey Repairmen’ Were Actually Removing Control Equipment
What initially looked like harmless monkey mischief turned out to involve actual components of Singapore’s street-lighting infrastructure.
Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) later confirmed that the removed devices were control nodes belonging to the Remote Control and Monitoring System (RCMS).
The system allows authorities to remotely control streetlights and automatically detect faults.
In total, eight lamp posts were affected.
However, LTA said the incident did not affect the operation of the streetlights or create a safety hazard for road users. The system detected the missing components and alerted the maintenance contractor, allowing all eight nodes to be replaced on the same day.
Why Were the Macaques Doing It?
According to Singapore’s National Parks Board (NParks), long-tailed macaques are naturally curious and may investigate unfamiliar objects in their surroundings.
NParks said the animals may have removed the equipment out of curiosity or as part of play.
The agency is aware of the incident and a previous report involving similar behaviour nearby. It said it will continue monitoring the situation.
The footage showed just how interested the macaques were.
One animal was seen gripping and twisting a cylindrical device until it came loose, while another appeared to stand nearby as though supervising the operation.
Another macaque was later photographed sitting near the roadside while holding a removed black component and examining it.
Authorities Are Now Looking at ‘Monkey-Proof’ Solutions
The incident has prompted authorities and maintenance contractors to look at ways to prevent similar damage in the future.
LTA said it is studying more tamper-resistant options, including the possibility of integrating the control nodes into the structure of the lamp posts, making them harder for wildlife to remove.
Similar incidents involving wildlife damaging or removing streetlight components have also occurred in other areas near forests and nature reserves, according to LTA.
Old Upper Thomson Road Meets Singapore’s Wildlife
Old Upper Thomson Road runs through an area where encounters with wildlife are not unusual.
Long-tailed macaques commonly live around forest edges and move between forest patches in search of food and territory.
NParks advises people who encounter macaques to remain calm, avoid sudden movements and prolonged eye contact, and slowly move away. Plastic bags should also be kept out of sight because macaques can associate them with food.
For now, the unexpected repair crew has apparently completed its inspection — although the macaques have not exactly received an official maintenance contract.
What began as an amusing wildlife encounter ultimately became a reminder that Singapore’s infrastructure and its wildlife can sometimes collide in very unexpected ways.
WWC ONE MEDIA G,A
