Monkeys in Palau: How Germany's colonial past, WWII and US military plans have fuelled an ecological calamity
Update: 2025-09-29
Description
Angaur, a tiny island at the southern end of Palau, spans just four square kilometres, but it's overrun by thousands of invasive macaque monkeys.
With only 114 locals left, the island's human population has been squeezed into a small corner, while the monkeys run rampant.
Originally introduced by German colonists over a century ago, the macaques have multiplied through a chain of events involving war, neglect and geopolitics.
Award-winning podcaster James Nokise boards an eight-seater plane to investigate this situation.
What he finds is a tangled tale involving WWII-era unexploded bombs, US military interests in the Pacific and a perfect monkey storm of cultural and environmental disruption.
- Presented and produced by James Nokise
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