In China, macaque monkeys have taken on a national defense role. The People’s Liberation Army has trained a group of them to keep birds from causing harm at a Beijing-area air force base.

In China, macaque monkeys have taken on a national defense role.

The People’s Liberation Army has trained a group of them to keep birds from causing harm at a Beijing-area air force base.

As the military outpost is situated in one of the world’s busiest bird migration paths, there’s a lot of potential for catastrophe.

Should a few get into an aircraft’s engine, for example, they could easily cause enough damage to down the plane.

Humans have tried to handle the job of creating a bird-free zone themselves, but never to any great degree of success.

They’ve tried scarecrows, putting up nets, using firecrackers, and even climbing trees to destroy the nests.

Within a day or two, the birds always return.

Now, they’re handing the responsibility over to the specially trained monkeys.

When a whistle blows, the macaques head for the trees and begin their ascents.

Once they make it to the branches, their job is to destroy nests and make birds go away.

It’s been reported that so far they’re doing a great job, each of them decimating up to 8 roosts a day.