By now everybody has seen the news that the Deputy Mayor for Delhi, S.S. Bajwa, died over the weekend:
The deputy mayor of the Indian capital Delhi has died a day after being attacked by a horde of wild monkeys. SS Bajwa suffered serious head injuries when he fell from the first-floor terrace of his home on Saturday morning trying to fight off the monkeys. [Link]
The coverage I’ve seen has generally been smirking, with photos like the one at right. The caption of that photo reads “Angry animal … a monkey in India”, even though it shows a monkey acting cute, and it’s above an article about Bajwa’s death.
I understand the urge to crack a joke about the matter in part because the whole story sounds implausible. That said, I want to resist the temptation to make light of this. Firstly, a person did die here. Secondly, it’s condescending, as in “Look and the wacky and quaint ways people die in India!” sort of like an Indian newspaper juxtaposing a photo of a cute puppy next to an article about Michael Vick’s Ving Rhames’ groundskeeper getting mauled to death.
Furthermore, this isn’t just about nature red in tooth and claw, it’s the actions of humans as well. Partly, this is the story, familiar in the west, about growing cities encroaching on the natural habitats of wildlife. But the bigger problem would seem to be that the monkeys are being fed by humans, which encourages their population to grow, and makes them far more aggressive:
Baiwa’s house is near a temple dedicated to Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god, where hundreds of monkeys gather every day to be fed offerings by devotees…human residents of the capital have long tolerated the monkeys, whose natural habitat is the surrounding forest, and many revere and feed them, believing them to be incarnations of Hanuman. [Link]
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p> The problem has been ongoing for a while, and getting worse all the time:
In 2004 … the Supreme Court ordered that monkeys should be driven out of Delhi and local authorities started rounding up the macaques. First they sent them to monkey “prisons” on the outskirts of Delhi but animal rights activists complained. Then they sent hundreds to nearby states, where they were released into the forest. But several states have refused to accept more because they say that the “urban” monkeys steal food from villages and terrorise the indigenous monkeys.
In March the Delhi High Court ordered local authorities to capture all city monkeys and transfer them to a nearby wildlife park within three months. By May little progress had been made and members of the Indian parliament complained that monkeys were routinely entering official apartments and offices in central Delhi. [Link]
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p>I’m not sure what the right solution is – whether it is to build larger parks for monkeys or whether it is to get rid of them. Current methods are clearly not working:
The city government says that it has advertised for people to join its current team of three monkey catchers but has received no responses, despite offering 450 rupees a monkey. Experts say that one of the only ways to keep the rhesus macaques at bay is to use the larger langur monkey to scare them off. Demand is now so great that their owners are said to be earning up to 10,000 rupees a month. [Link]
While I don’t know what the correct solution to the problem is, Mandirs feeding the monkeys in the middle of town seems to be a very bad thing. However, it’s precisely the sort of collision between faith and secular argumentation that both India and America are bad at handling. Given the politics of the BJP, I doubt the BJP led municipal government will be up to the task.
Update: You might also be interested in Slate’s what to do if you’re surrounded by angry macaques
When monkeys get aggressive, it’s usually because they think you have something to eat…If you are holding a snack, throw it in their direction, and they’ll stop bothering you. If you don’t have any food, hold out your open palms to show you’re not carrying a tasty treat or back away from the monkeys without showing fear. To diffuse the situation, don’t make eye contact or smile with your teeth showing–in the nonhuman primate world, these are almost always signs of aggression.What if you can’t or won’t appease the monkeys with food? You can try to chase them off by shaking a stick at them, but they might get violent if cornered. If they don’t budge, bop ’em on the head; visitors to temples in India sometimes carry a stick for just this reason. Primatologists will sometimes send a macaque warning signal called the open-mouth threat. Basically, form an “O” with your mouth, lean toward them with your body and head, and raise your eyebrows. [Link]
I hate geese, squirrels, gulls, pigeons for the same reason. vermin. all of them. Cull. Cull.
spell check pliss yon pinglish maurauda.
although religious taboos do play a part here, i think the more important problem is the destruction of their natural habitat. there have always been monkeys in temples (i’ve seen 19th century photos with them). people fed them then as well, but they weren’t a problem as they are now. the monkeys wouldn’t be in the middle of town if the middle of town didn’t keep expanding to meet them. as with stray dogs, the problem is human-made. people also feed stray dogs, not out of any religious drive usually, but out of kindness. creating problems for other creatures – whether it’s by throwing food all over the place or destroying their environments — and then seeking the easiest way out – usually destroying them — is counterproductive and inhumane. perhaps a sterilization drive- catch-and-release program would be the best solution until a better way is found of moving them to proper sanctuaries, instead of the ones that pass for sanctuaries now.
also, i don’t think a congress municipal govt. would tackle the sensitivities of this any better than a bjp one – i don’t think it’s a party issue. wasn’t the councillor a bjp member?
The deputy mayor, although a Sikh, was a BJP member.
Lots of animals lose habitat, but then they generally can’t survive in the city. Consider deer for example. The problem comes if people feed them extensively. This means they lose their fear of people and treat human areas – which they normally shun — as their own territory. Also means that 15,000 of these monkeys can survive in the center of Delhi.
that would be against the teachings of the lord. we should preach abstinence or onanism. no more wild monkey sex for macacas.
We’re also talking about monkeys right in the center of the heart of New Delhi, tearing up classified documents in the defense department and going through MPs offices. That hasn’t been their habitat for a long time.
sorry, deputy mayor.
i would say that just because lots of animals lose territory and can’t survive in cities, isn’t a reason to continue to destroy monkeys’ (and other animals) habitats and then not tolerate them in cities. it’s not their fault that they are more “enterprising’ than other animals or more tolerated. even if one didn’t feed them, i wonder if they would just disappear and go elsewhere? As for deer, the reason you probably don’t see a lot of them in cities or more urban areas is because they are hunted and constitute much of the roadkill on u.s. roads. in fact, i don’t think i’ve ever seen as much roadkill anywhere in the world as in the u.s. even taking out the religious reason, culling monkeys just eases a symptom and not the cause of the problem.
Agreed that we might want to create sanctuaries for them or not destroy their last remaining habitats. However, feeding wild animals is a huge no-no, it always makes things worse.
If we didn’t feed them they might raid some human food stuffs, the way racoons do, but there would be fewer of them. More to the point, they wouldn’t be nearly as bold, nor would they congregate.
vhaaat cynicism!!! BJP has many resources to combat the monkey menace, most notably the Bride-Kidnappa from Sri-Lanka! (amrikan pronunciation, please).
Talking abt monekys, monkeys gods and human encroachment of wildlife habitat, here is my favourite image ( second image on this link ) from the heart of delhi The caption of the image – ” A Delhi train passes by a new temple dedicated to and made in a likeness of Lord Hanuman the monkey god of Hindu mythology. It opened after 12 years of construction “
there are packs of dogs that roam the streets of bangalore today on which this wsa tried, but didnt work.
“That hasn’t been their habitat for a long time.”
but it may have been their habitat long before there was even a new delhi:)
i agree, there is no easy solution, but it’s fairly easy to spot the problem – humans (whether it’s destroying their habitat in the first place or feeding them (when looked at from a non-religious point of view).
there was also this story a few days ago: wild elepants converge on river island in india
“there are packs of dogs that roam the streets of bangalore today on which this wsa tried, but didnt work.”
nothing works without some level of human cooperation/education. it’s worked fairly successfully in other places.
“The deputy mayor, although a Sikh, was a BJP member.”
I don’t think being Sikh makes him any less likely a BJP member. After all the Sikh’s have real beef with Indira Gandhi. Plus Sikhs favor stronger federalism, which is a huge part of the BJP platform. The BJP are not so pro-Hindu as they are anti-muslim/christian, as they basically regard all ‘Indian’ religions as Hinduism.
That is anti-Sikh, anti-Jain, and anti-Buddhist right there. But that’s not the point of the thread.
Anyway, as with the stray dogs, the monkeys should be forcibly removed from the urban scene. If that means culls, so be it. And ignore the animal rights activists. It’s ridiculous to see dogs, cows, monkeys, etc. everywhere you go in India, even in the heart of big cities. These monkeys are bold, and if you shoo away one, you risk the entire troop’s wrath.
The problem, as the Bobby Jindal thread showed, is that we can’t get people to agree on anything. Even here on this thread so far, some are pro-monkey, some against. So they need to just be democratic about it and follow majority-rule.
From the original post,
–> Was the use of alliteration in the headline, merely a lucky coincidence ? 🙂
While you pointed out, rightly, the underlying “smirkness” of the coverage, you could have used a better headline. Just my opinion.
These monkeys are obviously trained agents of a terrorist cell. 🙂
CUPA in B’lore is one option.
Why ignore animal rights activists? If it weren’t for the efforts of animal rights activists, awareness about cruelty to non-human animals wouldn’t be there. The municipal officers should work in conjunction with AR activists and temple admins to find a solution that works. Killing all animals that are on the street should be the absolutely last option, if at all – and I don’t think the situation has reached that stage. This is a problem because of human over-population and encroachment on monkeys’ habitat, so a solution should consider finding another sanctuary for them, instead of the trigger-happy (pardon the pun) culling.
Stopping people from feeding the monkeys sounds difficult, if not impossible. Even if they did, it feels like with the vast amounts of waste generated in Indian cities, the animals would be able to sustain their population level.
I vote for shipping them to Gujarat and feeding them to the Asiatic lions…
“So they need to just be democratic about it and follow majority-rule. “
isn’t that why the monkeys aren’t killed in the first place? what if the majority don’t want the culls? at least most temperate animals rights activists want to work towards the most equitable solution for all – which means removing them but trying to provide them with some sort of humane alternative to “out of sight, out of mind.” removing them via unnecessarily cruel methods isn’t going to help if they all come back next year. soon shipping them far away won’t be an option when there is no far away to which to go. given a choice, i don’t think most animals would want to keep company with hordes of humans either:) i don’t think animal rights activists really want stray animals roaming the cities either because it’s the animals who suffer much more than the humans.
“Killing all animals that are on the street should be the absolutely last option, if at all – and I don’t think the situation has reached that stage.”
Exactly. this really isn’t an insurmountable problem given the will to do it, a modicum of compassion and the resources and a viable plan.
“I vote for shipping them to Gujarat and feeding them to the Asiatic lions…”
if they are any Asiatic lions left to which to feed them. but this is the way of the world now – ship our ugly underbellies somewhere else, whether it’s e-waste or unwanted animals.
Sterilization, I’m talking about the monkeys – would that be considered cruel or humane, WGIIA? I don’t mean sterilize all, but sterilize some, to allow the population to diminish/become manageable as is done with our stray pets here in the U.S. – who knows, it perhaps might make them more docile.
Both the species of monkeys commonly found in Indian cities are really smart and well adapted to living in cities. They are smart enough to open a latch on a door, walk into your kitchen, open the refrigerator and grab whatever food they like (avoid daal/sabzi, take fruit, mithai) and walk out the door that they came in. They are also smart enough to do things like taking your clothes ‘hostage’, they wont throw them down until you throw them some food. Unless the monkey is rabid, they don’t really ‘attack’ humans.. The alpha males bluff a lot but usually scamper away if you bend down to pick up a stick or a stone. They are also really scared of shotguns/bb-guns. Of-course, exceptions are always there. Like humans, these animals have distinct personalities and some may be of a more aggressive nature than others.
You have talked about how condescending the coverage of western msm has been on this issue, but you yourself don’t show any great insights into the culture you are commenting on as well. All forms of life are seen as more-or-less sacred by the middle class in India, and they wont support any harsh measures like culling. BJP is simply irrelevant in this case.
There’s more than two options – why do you assume that I support culling? I simply can’t envision a workable solution to this that will work if people continue to feed them in large numbers in populated areas. Everything I know about primates says this is bad. I don’t know how to square that with long-standing religious and cultural practice, I really do not.
Perhaps I should have googled the idea first… From The Tribune, India 2004, article: Presiding over a meeting held to review a district-level plan here today Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, Himachal Pradesh, said to check monkey menace in the state, a pilot project to sterilize monkeys would be launched immediately in two districts.
bess,
sorry if i didn’t explain myself properly above, but sterilization, in my view, is a humane option. it’s the option i’ve used for all my dogs and cats, because i know there simply aren’t enough good homes for their offspring. i think shimla started a monkey sterilization project a couple of years ago. would be interesting to see if it’s been successful. if i remember correctly, thailand does it as well.
cull cull. make glue.
and I am not kidding about packs of feral dogs that roam around. they stalk and they eat babies. Yes, my heart goes out to that stray mongrel that’s been whipped so hard it skulks quivering, from heap to heap, sniffing the odd scrap. and the cows that die in agony with their intestines twisted by polythene bags and their diseases that distend beyond their anus in a mottled red heap simmering with flies.
it’s the state of indian society. man’s life is cheap – why hold cows or monkeys in thrall.
Racist here may say that US has a monkey problem of their own in big cities…. :((
This is quite tragic. I can see a Tim Burton dark-comedy out of this.
WGIIA, Thanks for your reply. I did find someone who thought of serious solutions: Iqbal Malik
1 put a ban on all trappings of monkeys from forests 2 increase the abundance of wild fruiting trees and waterholes in the remaining natural habitat for these primates
3 capture, quarantine, sterilize and relocate those monkeys that live in human habitations, to the Wildlife Sanctuaries of the respective states, which provide plenty of food, water and shelter for these monkeys.
khoofia, you’re poetically offensive, intriguing.
here’s an idea for a short story.
mysterious stranger appears at Shre Shree Hanoman Garbh Nirodhak Sansthan (or Mr Mr Hanoman birth control instituion) – he claims to be a doctor – is misshapen and squat – with a furry brow – he is an instant success – monkeys quiet to his touch as he does the snip snip – but he is reclusive – puts in rule about not being disturbed as he prays to hanuman every day – mysterious incident of pretty monkey who dies under the knife – but that’s the solo incident – he is about to be honored one year – attendant runs into his apartment unannounced and sees doctor hanging from the rafters by his tail – wild shriek of anger – and langur disappears into the jungle never to be seen again.
Don’t chemical sterilizing agents exist for non-humans? Can they be designed to be permanent? Can they be put in ‘darts’ like tranquilizers? How much species-specificity can be built in, if you want to introduce it through food? What’s the longest they could last?
I can’t imagine a solution working if you have to go snip-snip – like you do for cats and dogs. It’s too labor intensive.
And – not to deny how big Hanuman and Bajrangbali are in the culture, but religiosity does not have much to do with the problem – it’s just a lack of urgency, people in charge don’t make the effort required, no penalty applies when things don’t happen, it’s just chalta hai.
chachaji, chemical sterilization does exist for male dogs but it has side-effects.it’s been developed for mammals as well, but again has had problems. perhaps by now there is a better one that can be used on such a large scale. what would be ideal is for a chewable one-time only contraceptive which one can give to strays that are too scared to come near humans.
bess, thanks for the link.
khoofia, i’d read that if you wrote it:)
It is not as if no one is trying. But no solution seems to have worked. See what happened when some were relocated to rural, less populated areas.
Thousands of monkeys roam Delhi, mostly around government offices, and are considered a public nuisance. For years the wild animals have caused havoc, riding on the city’s metro trains, roaming through parliament. They have invaded the prime minister’s office and the Defence Ministry, helping themselves to top secret military files.
They cannot be killed because many Indians see them as sacred. Instead they have been captured, their fate decided by a bench of Supreme Court judges headed by India’s Chief Justice. Some 250 monkeys have already been relocated by a court order to forests in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. But many people there are now objecting, saying the animals are bringing with them their hooligan habits learnt in the city and are terrorising rural villages.
Monkey tales are not new in Delhi although things seem to have gotten really bad in the recent years. Years ago, when I was a school girl, there was a large monkey (a langur or hanuman) who lived within our school compound in New Delhi. He was a pampered beast. The school’s janitorial staff fed him lavishly. The monkey lived in a grove of trees that was adjacent to the science building, the school gym and the sports fields. My friends and I in the science department were acutely aware of his presence because we saw him all the time through our class room windows. The humanities students, on the other side of the school did not register his presence as well. Every day during lunch recess, when large numbers of students congregated around the fields and the gym, some one (mostly a humanities student) would have her lunch stolen in a sudden and sometimes violent swipe from the monkey. While dangerous, there was indeed a certain comic angle to it. Like in a bad horror movie, where everyone except the victim knows what is coming next, the monkey would find a suitably distracted girl and divest her of her midday meal. It happened without fail – the sudden swoop, the scream and dropping of the lunch box. Amazingly enough, no one got seriously hurt and no one in the school ever thought of getting the menacing simian out of the school premises.
Eagles had this job in our school. Someone or other would have their lunch taken – every day at recess. Never understood how birds which normally prey on small animals – rats, rabbits, even snakes and other birds – could get used to jam sandwiches!
some inspirational culling ideas.
Chachaji:
We had kites, not eagles – flocks of them in the sky, also busy during lunch time. (These powerful and graceful birds are rare now in Delhi, having succumbed to poisoning by eating rats and mice killed by pesticides, I hear) The kites actually inflicted many more injuries than the “langur” ever did. They swooped down from above and managed to draw blood with their talons often in the facial area. The monkey on the other hand, went directly for the lunch, swatting it off the hands of owner. He rarely hurt anyone. Although he assumed a scary stance, his snarl was worse than his bite.
if you have a taste for tHe morbid and the absurd – hmm… think brueghel – you may like the writings of o.v. vijAyan. he was a cartoonist for an indian daily, and wrote allegorically of the witch queen;s regime and her spawn’s snipping.
Ennis, do you know how I feel about alliteration? 🙂
always absolutely appalled?
“and her spawn’s snipping.”
slip or does the good doctor appear in that story as well?:)
gandhi jr.
Ruchiraji, it happened to me in the second grade, though it was my hand that got badly scratched 🙂
“gandhi jr.”
ok. was slow on the uptake.
just noticed, think there’s typo in the first word of the headline.
Ving Rhames’ groundskeeper.
I got my sandwich taken (cleanly) by a dive-bombing kite in third grade.. these birds know how to pick on kids.
and one of my most indelible memories was a band of Langurs (these are the black faced long tailed variety) getting fried on the high tension wires in an electrical substation (12 KV onlee).. I guess one of them must have been in distress and the others tried to help.
Amitabh, I think many Buddhists and Jains may find your disregard for the lives of the monkeys and dogs more offensive. 😉
M-M-M-M-M……::drool::
Ennis, you have us gals fightin’ over ya today…