The Solution to Monkey Attacks in India

Monkey Sterilization by Unemployed Indian Youth

When I lived in India, an American friend of mine there told me that he could always tell how long a westerner had been in India by how he or she felt about monkeys. Those visiting or newly moved to India would exclaim, "Oh, look at that cute little monkey!" but those who had been there for some time would express a different sentiment upon seeing a monkey: "Those filthy creatures!" That was certainly the experience for me. Wild monkeys in India may be cute, but they are anything but sweet and gentle.

According to India Today, Lajpat Nagar, one small neighborhood in New Delhi reported more than 35 monkey attacks on humans in only one month's time. The attacks included bites, breaking into people's homes, and vandalism. It is actually worse in some neighborhoods in Delhi, such as the Yamuna colony of Mayur Vihar, where people arm themselves with sticks, rods, and even firecrackers before they dare to leave their homes. The overpopulation of monkeys is certainly not confined to jungles; Mayur Vihar is referred to as a "concrete jungle" where the majority of people live in apartments made of concrete.

To compound the problem, monkeys often run and attack in packs, making them that much harder to fight off. When one Delhi man came home and found a monkey sitting on his dining room table, he chased the monkey outside, only to encounter and be attacked by five other monkeys. He managed to beat them off, but only after he was bitten several times.

Even worse, according to India Today, in the Kasturba Gandhi Hospital, located near the Jama Masjid neighborhood in north Delhi, monkeys have attacked doctors and have even tried to run off with newborn babies.

Rich, poor, influential people and those who are barely noticed all suffer from the invasion of the monkeys. In fact, according to Yahoo News, a few months back, the deputy mayor of New Delhi was killed when he fell from his balcony while trying to fight off monkeys during an attack.