[ Image: Common Langur, a CC-licensed photo by Art G. ]
Authorities in Delhi have sought assistance from langur monkeys (a rather large species) to keep other animal pests away from the athletic venues at India's Commonwealth Games. This is no joke: wildlife in the area including other monkeys, dogs, and snakes, have caused big headaches for the beleaguered organizers of the sporting event, which critics say is rather a big mess.
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has a regular team of 28 langurs which are used to scare away their weaker brethren in VIP areas of the city, but 10 more have been brought in from the neighbouring state of Rajasthan. Four of them will be posted outside the boxing complex with their handlers, while another four will patrol the hockey complex. Two have been kept in reserve to respond in the event of an emergency.
"They are there for the monkey problem. They will be moving outside the stadiums," Devender Prasad, an inspector from the enforcement department of the NDMC, told AFP.
Delhi deploys 'super monkeys' for Games security (Daily Nation, via BB Submitterator, thanks CJP!)
