Marauding monkeys are running riot in the Indian city of Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal, mugging passers-by for food and causing at least two people to fall to their deaths.

Reuters video footage showed troops of monkeys roaming Agra’s dusty streets, drinking water from a tap, climbing on top of gates and walls and attacking a man carrying a bag of food.

The monkeys pose a major problem for city authorities because they are considered sacred creatures and manifestations of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman.

Local officials estimate there are at least 25,000 in the city. The animals are a common sight even in tourist areas around the Taj Mahal and other Mughal-era buildings.

Many residents carry sticks to fend off monkey attacks and one local told the ANI news agency that two or three people had died. Dozens more have been bitten by the animals, many of which carry the tuberculosis virus.

“It has become difficult to even walk the streets. Nobody can walk freely on the road if carrying some eatables. The monkeys have become so daring that they snatch it from the hands and are not even afraid of sticks,” he said.

In a recent incident, a young mother died after falling from the roof terrace of a three-storey building with her two-month-old child, which survived the fall. The tragedy occurred less than two weeks after a student died in similar circumstances following a monkey attack.

City officials say they plan to round up thousands of the monkeys and relocate them to protected areas of forest — where they will be kept well fed.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 16th, 2009 at 7:00 pm and is filed under Angry, Monkeys, Primates, Wild. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.