Authorities in India are determined to keep a lid on the apes roaming the city ahead of the arrival of world leaders next week, placing life-size cutouts of angry langurs across the capital to dissuade smaller, pesky primates from wreaking havoc or monopolizing. the spotlight.
India is preparing to receive the leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) countries in New Delhi next weekend, including the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Small rhesus macaques are found throughout the capital, scurrying along roads, leaping between rooftops, causing a general nuisance and occasionally attacking unexpected pedestrians.
As the government embarks on a massive beautification campaign, freshly painting walls, planting trees and placing colorful flowers in key areas of the city, New Delhi authorities have taken steps to ensure that animals do not ruin these efforts.
Enter the langur – or at least the cardboard cutouts of langurs – and the men trained to sound like the larger primates.
“[Os macacos] they don’t want to go near the big cutouts of the langurs because they get scared,” he said. Satish Upadhyay deputy chairman of the New Delhi City Council, told the Indian news agency ANI.
Upadhyay added that they have also deployed between 30 and 40 men who can mimic the sounds of the langurs to trick the rhesus macaques into thinking they are nearby.
The council also left food for the monkeys in the forested areas to encourage them to stay there, he added.
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Monkeys are revered in Hindu-majority India, and wild animal culling programs have proved extremely controversial. Hence the need for more humane solutions.
The langur monkey is much larger and more aggressive than the lesser rhesus monkey and has long been used by authorities to scare off marauding gangs.
Live langurs were rented and put into service when the Commonwealth Games were held in New Delhi in 2010, Reuters news agency reported.
Much of central New Delhi will be shut down for the G20, with a massive operation to keep global leaders moving freely between hotels and meeting venues.
Billboards announcing the summit and featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s face have been placed on many street corners, while police and security presence is expected to increase in the days leading up to the meeting.
Source: CNN Brasil
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