AR-News: (India) Monkey menace in the abode of the gods

[Animalara2003 at aol.com]

By Sudeshna Sarkar Kathmandu, Jan 29 (IANS):

Mukunda Bista had gone to the revered Pashupatinath temple in the Nepalese 
capital to seek divine blessings. What he got instead was a bill for over 
Rs.10,000 - thanks to a monkey! 

Bista had to buy expensive vaccines for his companions, who were scratched 
and bitten by the simian. He himself was slapped in the face.

His plight is by no means unique.

Two major holy sites in the city, the Pashupatinath temple and the shrine of 
Swayambhunath, revered by both Hindus and Buddhists, are the happy hunting 
ground of the primates who are allowed a free rein because of the religious 
belief that monkeys are an incarnation of Hindu god Hanuman.

Several other temples are also thronged by the animals who often attack 
passers-by carrying food.

According to the CIWEC Clinic Travel Medicine Centre in Nepal, most animal 
exposures to travellers occur in Kathmandu, with monkey bites and scratches 
accounting for 43 percent of all "exposures in tourists". 

Not just devotees. The primates now seem to be targeting diplomats too. 

This month several news agencies reported that monkeys had invaded the Indian 
embassy in Kathmandu, one of the greenest spots in the city, attacking people 
and even destroying equipment. 

Last week, the Kathmandu Post daily reported that an adult monkey was 
terrorising visitors to the Pashupatinath temple, with the number of its victims 
crossing 20.




full story:

http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?action=fullnews&showcomm
ents=1&id=5470



"The world is a dangerous place,
not because of those who do evil,
but because of those who look on and do nothing.",
Albert Einstein

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