New Delhi, India has been declared a Monkey-Free zone, because the critters have been causing such havoc there. They’ve overrun government buildings; bitten, robbed and tormented the workers; and ransacked the files. They’ve taken down power lines, banged on office windows and screeched at visitors. It’s gotten so bad that citizens there have filed a lawsuit demanding that the Supreme Court step in and protect them.
But how are they going to do it? In the past, they’ve tried blasting them with ultrahigh frequency loudspeakers. They tried to deport them, but no one else will take them. They tried patrolling the streets with fierce-looking primates called langurs, but the monkeys simply avoided them.
Atul K. Gupta, of the Wildlife Institute of India, says deforestation and human settlement have driven the macaque monkeys into cities in search of food. The monkeys are crafty pickpockets, know how to open refrigerators, and often snatch lunch boxes from government workers. He says, “They have learned the tricks of finding food in an urban environment.” He says the only answer is to save the forests. Otherwise, “the problem will get worse.”
It’s a crazy world out there?or is it?
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