Indian State Proposes Rehab School for Delinquent Monkeys

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Take humans out of nature, squeeze them into cramped, urban environments, and violence and bad behavior go up. Apparently, it’s the same for monkeys in India, who increasingly have turned aggressive and destructive as deforestation in Punjab has forced thousands to live in towns and cities, leading officials to try a novel experiment. If funding comes through, a special school will be built for wayward monkeys, perhaps as many as 100, to train them to be less hostile, so that they can assimilate with other monkeys and with humans. There are reportedly 65,000 monkeys living in Punjab, and many cause havoc, from stealing food to wrecking TV antennas to damaging scooters and motorcycles. The proposed school would be opened on the site of what was once a jail for rogue monkeys in the city of Patiala.

-Noel Brinkerhoff
 

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