KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 — A northbound rest and service area (R&R) on the North-South Expressway has been temporarily closed for a special operation to tackle increasingly aggressive wild monkeys, with traders saying years of motorists feeding the animals have made them fearless.

PLUS Malaysia Berhad said the northbound Sungai Perak R&R was closed on Tuesday to facilitate the operation, Utusan Malaysia reported.

The monkeys have frequented the rest stop for years, but workers and traders said repeated feeding by some visitors has left them increasingly bold.

Traders have resorted to placing replica snakes on pillars, walls and around their stalls in an attempt to keep the monkeys away.

Petrol station worker Muhd Asyraf Mohd Idris, 23, said the monkeys regularly rummaged through rubbish bins in search of food, leaving litter strewn across the area.

He blamed visitors who fed the animals, saying they had become accustomed to relying on humans for food.

“There are so many of them now that they’re no longer afraid of humans. Even if we try to scare them away, they’ll chase us instead,” he told Utusan Malaysia.

Fruit seller Salina Saad, 57, said groups of between 20 and 30 monkeys could descend on the R&R at any one time.

She said they frequently snatched food from visitors and wandered into stalls in search of fruit, particularly mangoes.

“The monkeys have been here for a long time. When they come, there are a lot of them — around 20 to 30 at a time.

“If you let your guard down, they’ll come and take your food. They’re no longer afraid of people. In fact, if we try to chase them away, they’ll threaten us instead,” she said.

Salina said the various measures traders had tried proved effective only initially.