Monkey attacks send foresters in a tizzy

VADODARA: A group of monkeys that have created havoc in Ghoghamba and nearby areas in Panchmahal district kept the forest officials on their toes. The department had to seek help from volunteers having experience in handling monkeys to cage the simians.
The residents of Ghoghamba and adjoining areas were in panic after two persons including a woman and a child were bitten on two separate incidents by a monkey on Sunday and Monday.
As monkeys move and stay in groups, officials and volunteers found it a daunting task to identify the monkey responsible for the incident. After staying put in the area since Tuesday, the forest officials and volunteers met with some success only on Wednesday when two monkeys were caged in the evening.
Another monkey was rescued from Ghoghamba on Thursday
While the officials and experts have rescued three monkeys, they are still not sure if these were the ones involved in the attacks. A positive sign, however, has been that no new attacks were reported since Tuesday even as locals believe that it was the second monkey that was caged on Wednesday morning that may have been responsible for the attacks.
“Monkeys are intelligent animals and difficult to trap. They also keep moving around and one has to keep following them to ascertain where they can possibly be trapped. They are known to even avoid cages for a long time,” said range forest officer Sarla Katara who supervised the operation. Katara said that the reason for such behaviour of monkeys was not known.