India Hires Mimics to Scare Monkeys

{{India has hired 40 men to dress up as monkeys to scare away the real simians from parliament and government buildings in the capital, Delhi.}}

The men, disguised as black-faced langur monkeys, make noises to frighten the smaller red-faced macaque monkeys.

Thousands of macaque monkeys roam Delhi streets, trashing gardens and offices and attacking people for food.

But the animals are considered sacred by Hindus, who often feed them, encouraging them to remain.

Delhi’s civic authorities were earlier using real langurs to keep monkeys away from the parliament complex and other buildings.

But the practice had to be abandoned after protests from animal rights activists and a court order that keeping monkeys in captivity was cruel.

India’s Minister for Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu informed parliament on Thursday that the municipal authorities were now hiring men to impersonate langur monkeys.

“Various efforts are being made to tackle the monkey and dog menace inside and around the parliament house… The measures include scaring the monkeys away by trained persons who disguise themselves as langurs,” he said.

The head of the Delhi municipalityJalaj Srivastava says, “They often wear a mask on their faces, hide behind the trees and make these noises to scare away the simians”.

Delhi’s large population of stray monkeys has been a long-standing problem and they are considered a public nuisance.