The mayor of the Indian capital New Delhi said last week that authorities could not deal with a scourge of violent monkeys, which are blamed for the death of a top city official.
The danger posed by the estimated 10,000 monkeys that roam the city was brought home sharply on Oct. 21 when deputy mayor S.S. Bajwa, 52, died after falling from his apartment while fighting a horde of wild monkeys.
"We have neither the expertise nor the infrastructure to deal with the situation," said Delhi's mayor Aarti Mehra, amid a barrage of criticism.
PHOTO: AFP
If the animals are caught, "we are under pressure to release them due to pressure from animal activists and from people due to religious reasons," Mehra said.
Killing problem monkeys is unacceptable to Hindus who revere the monkeys as a living link to the deity Hanuman, a monkey god who symbolizes strength.
The animals routinely invade parliament, ministries, courts and government offices.
In May, federal lawmakers demanded protection from the problematic monkeys, which have even broken into the complex that houses Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's office.
Several city residential districts petitioned local courts in 2001 to initiate steps to make New Delhi "monkey-free."
But primatologist Iqbal Malik said local authorities have failed to take action.
"I was first approached by the authorities in 1987 when I drew up a plan to relocate the monkeys," she said. "But all that the authorities have done is listen."
Activist Kartick Satyanarayanan, who heads Wildlife SOS, said the problem was due to the "constant erosion" of the animal's natural habitat. (AFP)
印度首都新德里市長上星期表示，有關當局還是無法處理兇暴野猴所造成的威脅，一名市府高層官員的殞命，罪魁禍首就是這些野猴。
本月二十一日，現年五十二歲的新德里副市長「巴吉瓦」，在自家試圖驅趕一群野猴時，不幸墜樓身亡。這個事件的發生，讓大家清楚地明白這估計約一萬隻野猴在市區肆虐所帶來的危險性。
「我們沒有專業技術或是公共設施來處理目前的情況，」市長阿爾提．梅拉回應猛烈抨擊的言論時說。
如果這些猴子被抓了起來，「那些動物保育及宗教團體人士會向我們施加壓力，要我們釋放牠們，」梅拉說。
由於印度教徒認為猴子代表了象徵力量的「哈努曼」猴神，因此他們無法接受政府撲殺這些問題野猴。
這些野猴不斷地闖入國會殿堂、政府部門大樓、法院和政府機關辦公室。
今年五月份，聯邦議員要求保護以免受到野猴的攻擊。這些野猴甚至還闖入印度總理曼莫漢．辛格辦公處所在的大廈。
當地的一些住宅區於二○○一年，請求地方法院著手將新德里市訂定為「野猴禁區」。
然而，靈長類動物學家伊巴克．馬利可說，地方政府並未採取行動。
「一九八七年時，我第一次和政府單位接觸，當時我擬定重新安置野猴的計畫，」她說：「但是那些官員只聽卻沒有行動。」
野生動物保護組織Wildlife SOS負責人卡爾替克說，問題是出在動物天然棲息地「持續地被侵蝕」。
（法新社／翻譯：楊鴻泰）
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