While browsing headlines to stay updated, I came across a recent NPR News article that made me smile. It described how mischievous monkeys in Vrindavan, India, steal tourists’ valuables—such as eyeglasses, cell phones, and caps—and exchange them for treats like ‘Fruti’ mango juice. During a recent family trip to Vrindavan, we saw and experience this playful behavior firsthand.
We were warned to hide our valuables, as the monkeys would return stolen items in exchange for food. These monkeys are a well-known nuisance in Vrindavan, snatching food, laundry, and causing general mischief. Even the town’s famous legislator, Hema Malini, reportedly addressed the issue in the Indian Parliament, urging attention to the growing problem.
Hostage taking monkeys are as common as pilgrims in Vrindavan, a holy Hindu town by the Yamuna river in northern India. Monkeys are everywhere: hanging by power lines, sliding off sloping temple rooftops — whee! — and rummaging through garbage bins for snacks. Residents say monkeys also sneak into their kitchens or run away with their laundry, drying on the flat rooftops typical of this part of India.
– Source: NPR
According to NPR, the mischievous behavior of the Vrindavan monkeys is driven by habitat loss and food scarcity, which may have pushed them to resort to stealing items, rather than relying on the charity they once depended on. Like many urban areas in India, Vrindavan is seeing an influx of wild animals due to diminishing natural spaces. Along with the monkeys, NPR reports increasing sightings of leopards entering homes, elephants raiding crops, and crocodiles attacking people. India’s green cover now covers less than 25% of its land area, falling short of the nation’s 33% target. Over the past five years, NPR notes, India has lost 370 square miles of forest—roughly the size of a mid-sized American city.
The rapid, unplanned urban growth in India is causing significant environmental damage. As cities expand, farmland and forests are being lost, lakes are drying up, and bird species are declining. A 2023 study, highlighted by NPR, found that 60% of India’s bird species have vanished in the past 30 years, with urban areas being the hardest hit. Vrindavan, once surrounded by lush countryside and natural features, is now increasingly impacted by urbanization.
In Vrindavan, monkeys are considered sacred, so most locals, like Madan Kumar Saini, are reluctant to remove them. Saini, who runs a sweet shop near a temple dedicated to the monkey-god Hanuman, recalled to NPR, an incident from about a decade ago when a monkey caused a woman to fall to her death from a rooftop. While the community was upset, most chose not to take action, feeling that monkeys have always been part of the town. Despite the occasional theft of his sweets, Saini aligns with the majority view.
Govind Sharma, a volunteer who feeds the monkeys, advocates for restoring Vrindavan to its former state as a peaceful, green spiritual retreat, rather than turning it into a tourist destination. He argues that the monkey problem is a result of human activities, and driving them out would be akin to expelling family members.
The coexistence of humans and animals, while not always harmonious, remains a longstanding feature of India’s urban landscape.
For more details about the content discussed in this post, check out the original article on NPR.