Monkey problem in the Indian capital New Delhi

The animals roam in groups through the streets, jump through open windows into apartments, open refrigerator doors and take food with them.

They bathe in water tanks that people keep on their rooftops, or sometimes destroy satellite dishes. They have already stolen coronavirus test blood samples or wallets and later scattered banknotes around.

A few years ago, a deputy mayor of the capital died after the animals approached him while he was reading the newspaper on his terrace, causing him to flee and fall from the terrace. Monkeys bite people from time to time – including tourists at the famous mausoleum and UNESCO World Heritage Site Taj Mahal – which can transmit rabies, and if left untreated this is generally fatal for humans. Monkeys have also killed human babies – for example by throwing them from a rooftop or into a water tank.

Monkeys cause controversy

For years, people in the capital have been racking their brains over how to reduce conflicts with the monkeys. A truly effective solution has not yet been found. Animal welfare advocates see humans as the primary cause of the monkey problem: they are increasingly encroaching on the habitat of monkeys and other animals such as tigers and elephants by building houses there, says Wasim Akram of the organisation Wildlife SOS.

Furthermore, monkeys in cities like Delhi have food security, which causes them to reproduce more rapidly. The monkeys find food in rubbish bins, and people also repeatedly feed them voluntarily. For in India, people are not only annoyed by monkeys — they also revere them. The Hindu majority worships the monkey god Hanuman, and monkeys are considered his descendants, who must therefore not be mistreated.

To reduce the potential for conflict between monkeys and humans, the authorities have so far attempted, among other measures, to deploy monkey catchers who capture the animals and relocate them to the outskirts of the city. However, the monkeys have already caused chaos there as well. A few months ago, the Supreme Court sought monkey chasers through a public tender in order to keep the animals away from the homes of its judges.

How many monkeys actually live in New Delhi?

The exact number of monkeys living in the megacity remains unclear. The authorities now intend to address this through a monkey census — in order to enable more targeted measures, says SN Yadav of the Delhi municipal administration. When exactly the count is to take place remains uncertain. Financing questions have not yet been resolved, it was stated. However, more detailed concepts for the census have already been developed in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) under the Ministry of Environment. Facial recognition technology, for instance, is to be deployed to avoid counting any individual monkey twice. Key conflict zones between monkeys and humans are then to be identified, with precise interventions carried out in those areas.

Monkey population in Himachal declines by 50% following mass sterilisations

For a long time, the monkey threat in Shimla — the state capital — and in rural Himachal Pradesh generated nationwide headlines in a manner similar to New Delhi, but now comes a surprising development.

The monkey population in Himachal Pradesh has declined by nearly 50% over the past ten years, according to the latest data compiled by the state wildlife division within the forestry department.

A welcome development for Himachal Pradesh as a consequence of human-animal conflict in the Himalayan highlands.

This represents a quite significant and notable decline in the population of rhesus monkeys in the state. It is primarily the result of a sustained sterilisation campaign launched by the wildlife authority to effectively counter the growing monkey threat in the state.

Rajeev Kumar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife)

Kumar states that approximately 1.76 million male and female monkeys have so far been sterilized in seven centers established by the government in 2010, after the Supreme Court urged the government to find a viable solution to the growing monkey problem in cities such as Shimla and in villages — where troops of monkeys have devastated agricultural crops.