Hundreds of monkeys have taken over the streets around India’s presidential palace, leading an animal offensive taking advantage of deserted streets as the country remains under a lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
With India’s population of 1.3 billion people and tens of millions of vehicles conspicuous by their absence, stray domestic animals and wildlife has moved to fill the void, while also suffering from the pandemic fallout.
In the financial capital, Mumbai, peacocks have been seen perched on top of parked vehicles, displaying their spectacular trains.
Photo: AP
In Delhi, troops of monkeys now scamper over the walls of the Rashtrapati Bhawan presidential compound, past military guards and into the grounds of ministries and other official buildings.
“They are stealing a lot more, but not yet threatening humans,” one officer on duty at the palace entrance said.
The Rhesus macaque monkeys — which often snatch food from shoppers’ bags — have long been a problem in the capital, but there have been reports of some getting into office buildings during the lockdown.
Other animals have also been emboldened by the restrictions, with people only allowed out for food and essential items.
A Himalayan black bear last week wandered into Gangtok, capital of the northeastern state of Sikkim, entering a telecoms office and injuring an engineer, media reported.
Indian Forest Service officers have shared videos on social media of elephants trundling past shuttered shops along deserted streets.
However, the lockdown has also been deadly for some animals.
Four horses normally employed for tourist carriage rides near Kolkata’s Victoria Memorial have died from starvation in recent days, animal rights activists said.
About 115 horses, which make their living pulling carriages bedecked with flowers and balloons, were left to fend for themselves after the government shutdown, Love and Care for Animals spokeswoman Sushmita Roy said.
“They are becoming sick. We fear many more will die in coming days if they do not get food,” Roy said.
The owners of the carriages say they have no money for the horses after being ordered off the streets.
“We are finding it difficult to feed our family,” an owner named Sunny said. “How can we feed our horses?”
India’s army of stray cows and dogs have also found new freedom to take over intersections in cities and forage in waste bins, but even those scraps have disappeared as restaurants and shops have closed.
Aditi Badam of the Posh Foundation in Noida, outside Delhi, said shelters like hers were struggling to feed its animals and other strays during the lockdown.
Her foundation has been receiving increasing numbers of calls about abandoned dogs and other pets, which she said had become a “major issue.”
“It getting tougher day by day here,” Badam told reporters, adding that strays near the office blocks of multinational companies and outsourcing firms in the city were starving, as all had closed down.
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