Delhi is perhaps the only major city in India which lost a high-ranking official to a wildlife attack.
On October 20, 2007, S S Bajwa, the city’s deputy mayor, was attacked by a group of rhesus macaques at his home. He fell from a first-floor balcony, suffering serious head injuries. On October 21, 2007, he died from those injuries.
Given this past record, the city should be doubly careful when it comes to rhesus macaques. However, in what can only be described as a curious mix of religiosity and altruism, residents of the metropolis continue to entertain the monkeys, especially by feeding them.
Science shows that feeding wildlife changes their body composition as well as behaviour. By feeding macaques, people are encouraging increased aggression, dependency, and a decline in natural foraging instincts. Such monkeys consequently lose their fear of people and seek out human food sources.
The exact number of rhesus macaques in Delhi is unknown as the government has not conducted a census. Over the years though, a huge number of macaques have been caught and relocated to the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary on the Delhi-Haryana border. But this has not solved Delhi’s monkey problem.
Perhaps more than the authorities, it boils down to the people of Delhi to discourage any behaviour which makes rhesus macaques more prone to wreaking havoc.