Not monkeying around

I don’t want to freak anyone out, but this is happening. The monkeys are getting smarter and there’s nothing we can do. Today they’re fighting each other. Tomorrow they fight us. Langurs were deployed around buildings in Delhi to deal with the growing macaque menace. Unfortunately, the macaques are no longer afraid of the presence of langurs.

Diljan Ali, a langur handler, complained that the government hires monkey men to confront the macaques but refuses to compensate them when their animals are defeated. “(The macaques) are very smart. They know when they have the advantage. They attack in numbers and when they do it’s pre-planned,” he said.

Can someone tell me if this is for real? Regardless, I’m giving myself credit for avoiding the obvious Planet of the Apes headline joke.

• animals
• Delhi