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I grew up and studied in a University town in Central India, not far from Majalgaon FTA. I've personally witnessed the rivalry of the monkeys and the pariah dog

I grew up and studied in a University town in Central India, not far from Majalgaon FTA. I've personally witnessed the rivalry of the monkeys and the pariah dogs. In one particular instance a youngish dog was chasing the monkeys and wouldn't let them get on the ground. The leader of the monkey gang made a sudden move, swooped down and carried the dog pup on the tree and just dropped it from there. The pup survived and the dogs never tried to attack the monkeys after that instance. It was such a surreal scene that me an my friends couldn't believe what we witnessed. Monkeys, esp Langoor monkeys are a fearsome force in India and not to be messed with.

unmole 5y ago
> Langoor monkeys are a fearsome force in India and not to be messed with. I thought langoors were more friendly towards humans compared to macaques?
- FlyingSnake 5y ago
  As a general rule, animals never attack first. When humans encroach the traditional lands of the animals there are conflicts waiting to happen. Monkeys are smart and usually don’t bother humans, unless it’s a matter of food or threat to their group. Edit: I'm surprised at the downvotes, isn't human-wildlife conflict in Indian forests well documented?
  - PicassoCTs 5y ago
    At least one animal does. Homo sapiens. We are not separate from nature, we are just a extreme of nature.
    - frosted-flakes 5y ago
      That's one interpretation of the word "animal". The use above clearly meant non-human animals.
    - EamonnMR 5y ago
      More generally, all predators do. We aren't the relentless killing machines that cats are though.
    - formerly_proven 5y ago
      Most humans actually don't run around attacking stuff.
  - Retric 5y ago
    As a general rule that’s true but useless. Humans are relatively large animals that most creatures don’t want to mess with. But a hippo for example isn’t discouraged by this. Also the deadliest North American wildlife is the deer almost entirely because they’re jumping in front of cars.
    - technothrasher 5y ago
      > Also the deadliest North American wildlife is the deer Actually, the deadliest North American wildlife is the mosquito.
      - the_only_law 5y ago
        Are they particularly deadly in NA? I’m not downplaying the disease spread by mosquitoes, but I would have imagined that they’re significantly deadlier in less developed continents and that then acesss and quality of healthcare would make them less so in North America.
        selectodude 5y ago
        Depends on what you consider North America. Mexico down to Panama still have significant mosquito-borne illness and none of the access and quality of healthcare we enjoy in US/CA.
        Retric 5y ago
        Mexico with a population of 130 Million only had 641 cases of Malaria in 2019, it’s not at great risk from mosquito-born illness. Central American countries are at a significantly higher risk, Panama for example has 4.4 million people and had 1,597 cases of malaria in 2019. Other diseases show similar trends. Still in terms of total deaths from Mosquito born illness it’s likely lower than most assume.
      - Retric 5y ago
        Personally, I consider Mexico, Canada, and most of America as North America with the Caribbean, and Central America being separated. I wouldn’t call Malaria etc wildlife, mosquito’s on their own are harmless.
  - fundad 5y ago
    They big mad if you say humans are killers. The monkeys would do that to any species once threatened.
  - bongoman37 5y ago
    This is some nature is benign nonsense. Plenty of animals will attack humans without provocation. E.g., mosquitoes are animals. More seriously, stray dogs etc. attack children quite regularly in India. Man eating tigers etc are documented to track down and hunt humans.
  - s1artibartfast 5y ago
    >As a general rule, animals never attack first. Nonsense. There is a long list of predator species that will opportunistically feed on humans. As you yourself point out, many other animals that can't eat a human will attack if they feel threatened or competition. Be careful around all large animals.
- tgsovlerkhgsel 5y ago
  I would expect most animals that still exist to at the very least not be a major threat to humans - because if they are, they tend to cease to exist.
  - pizza 5y ago
    This world of ours has a tendency to evade equilibria
  - unmole 5y ago
    Depends on your definition of major. Mosquitoes still exist despite nearly a million people dying from the diseases they transmit each yaar. Stray dogs in India are responsible for tens of thousands rabies deaths annually. Yet it's illegal to cull them.
    - tgsovlerkhgsel 5y ago
      I'm surprised about the stray dogs. The mosquitoes are being worked on.
      - unmole 5y ago
        > I'm surprised about the stray dogs. It gets worse. A court recently ruled that Resident Welfare Associations are now legally obligated to feed and look after stray dogs in their neighborhoods.
        caddybox 5y ago
        A good judgement in my view. Culling dogs isn't the right way to end this. Sterilize them and let them live their lives out. This is going to be the humane way of ending this menace that will also be culturally acceptable.
        unmole 5y ago
        > A good judgement in my view. Just so I'm clear: You think it's a good idea to foist the responsibility of feeding and looking after street dogs onto resident welfare associations? Many of which actually want them removed? Their member are being asked to pay up for the privilege of being harassed by dogs. To quote none other than Mahatma Gandhi on the subject[0]: > It is a sin, it should be a sin, to feed stray dogs, and we should save numerous dogs if we had legislation making every stray dog liable to be shot. Even if those who feed stray dogs consented to pay a penalty for their misdirected compassion we should be free from the curse of stray dogs. Humanity is a noble attribute of the soul. It is not exhausted with saving a few fish or a few dogs. Such saving may even be sinful. If I have a swarm of ants in my house, the man who proceeds to feed them will be guilty of a sin. For God has provided their grain for the ants, but the man who feeds them might destroy me and my family. The mahajan may feel itself safe and believe that it has saved their lives by dumping dogs near my field, but it will have committed the greater sin of putting my life in danger. > Sterilize them and let them live their lives out. Sterilization isn't going to come cheap. This will only end up diverting funds from municipal governments that are already perpetually short on funds. > This is going to be the humane way of ending this menace that will also be culturally acceptable. Except that it simply doesn't seem to be working. ABC measures have been going on in large cities for years but from what I can tell, the numbers just keep going up. There's a reason the rest of the civilized world culls strays. This is what India did too until Maneka Gandhi got her grubby paws on the AWBI. There isn't some deep seated cultural opposition to culling, it's the the result of morality pushed by privileged animal lovers. There are an estimated 6 million dog bites in the county each year. Most victims are children from poor families. 0: Section 448, Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume 36 https://www.gandhiashramsevagram.org/gandhi-literature/mahatma-gandhi-collected-works-volume-36.pdf https://www.gandhiashramsevagram.org/gandhi-literature/mahat...
- nomoreusernames 5y ago
  indian kids throw rocks on dogs and monkeys when walking home from school to let off steam. i've personally seen a dog go after the kids for it. same with monkeys
- whatevertrevor 5y ago
  Yeah I don't think the GP is correct, langoors are more passive and mostly mind their own business (at least in North India). Macaques are a menace everywhere.
riazrizvi 5y ago
Someone could crowdsource a documentary and launch their career with the money it would raise...
- frontman1988 5y ago
  https://youtu.be/nEjkibv6KFQ https://youtu.be/nEjkibv6KFQ Natgeo already has a full season on Monkey thieves.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- Rebelgecko 5y ago
  I've been reading Mary Roach's new book (Fuzz) that has an interesting chapter on monkeys in India. Because macaques are afraid of langurs, some people would tie up langurs outside their houses for security. This was eventually deemed inhumane but it probably still happens in wealthy enclaves. Nowadays the Parliament building is protected by 40 humans who imitate langurs.
spaetzleesser 5y ago
I remember when I travelled in India there was a bus stop where monkeys had specialized on stealing food from women. They would leave men alone and only go after women’s backpacks. They were also really good at unscrewing the caps of water bottles.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
MuffinFlavored 5y ago
> carried the dog pup on the tree and just dropped it from there. How "not ok" was the dog pup after that?

unmole 5y ago

> Langoor monkeys are a fearsome force in India and not to be messed with. I thought langoors were more friendly towards humans compared to macaques?

FlyingSnake 5y ago
As a general rule, animals never attack first. When humans encroach the traditional lands of the animals there are conflicts waiting to happen. Monkeys are smart and usually don’t bother humans, unless it’s a matter of food or threat to their group. Edit: I'm surprised at the downvotes, isn't human-wildlife conflict in Indian forests well documented?
- PicassoCTs 5y ago
  At least one animal does. Homo sapiens. We are not separate from nature, we are just a extreme of nature.
  - frosted-flakes 5y ago
    That's one interpretation of the word "animal". The use above clearly meant non-human animals.
  - EamonnMR 5y ago
    More generally, all predators do. We aren't the relentless killing machines that cats are though.
  - formerly_proven 5y ago
    Most humans actually don't run around attacking stuff.
- Retric 5y ago
  As a general rule that’s true but useless. Humans are relatively large animals that most creatures don’t want to mess with. But a hippo for example isn’t discouraged by this. Also the deadliest North American wildlife is the deer almost entirely because they’re jumping in front of cars.
  - technothrasher 5y ago
    > Also the deadliest North American wildlife is the deer Actually, the deadliest North American wildlife is the mosquito.
    - the_only_law 5y ago
      Are they particularly deadly in NA? I’m not downplaying the disease spread by mosquitoes, but I would have imagined that they’re significantly deadlier in less developed continents and that then acesss and quality of healthcare would make them less so in North America.
      - selectodude 5y ago
        Depends on what you consider North America. Mexico down to Panama still have significant mosquito-borne illness and none of the access and quality of healthcare we enjoy in US/CA.
        Retric 5y ago
        Mexico with a population of 130 Million only had 641 cases of Malaria in 2019, it’s not at great risk from mosquito-born illness. Central American countries are at a significantly higher risk, Panama for example has 4.4 million people and had 1,597 cases of malaria in 2019. Other diseases show similar trends. Still in terms of total deaths from Mosquito born illness it’s likely lower than most assume.
    - Retric 5y ago
      Personally, I consider Mexico, Canada, and most of America as North America with the Caribbean, and Central America being separated. I wouldn’t call Malaria etc wildlife, mosquito’s on their own are harmless.
- fundad 5y ago
  They big mad if you say humans are killers. The monkeys would do that to any species once threatened.
- bongoman37 5y ago
  This is some nature is benign nonsense. Plenty of animals will attack humans without provocation. E.g., mosquitoes are animals. More seriously, stray dogs etc. attack children quite regularly in India. Man eating tigers etc are documented to track down and hunt humans.
- s1artibartfast 5y ago
  >As a general rule, animals never attack first. Nonsense. There is a long list of predator species that will opportunistically feed on humans. As you yourself point out, many other animals that can't eat a human will attack if they feel threatened or competition. Be careful around all large animals.
tgsovlerkhgsel 5y ago
I would expect most animals that still exist to at the very least not be a major threat to humans - because if they are, they tend to cease to exist.
- pizza 5y ago
  This world of ours has a tendency to evade equilibria
- unmole 5y ago
  Depends on your definition of major. Mosquitoes still exist despite nearly a million people dying from the diseases they transmit each yaar. Stray dogs in India are responsible for tens of thousands rabies deaths annually. Yet it's illegal to cull them.
  - tgsovlerkhgsel 5y ago
    I'm surprised about the stray dogs. The mosquitoes are being worked on.
    - unmole 5y ago
      > I'm surprised about the stray dogs. It gets worse. A court recently ruled that Resident Welfare Associations are now legally obligated to feed and look after stray dogs in their neighborhoods.
      - caddybox 5y ago
        A good judgement in my view. Culling dogs isn't the right way to end this. Sterilize them and let them live their lives out. This is going to be the humane way of ending this menace that will also be culturally acceptable.
        unmole 5y ago
        > A good judgement in my view. Just so I'm clear: You think it's a good idea to foist the responsibility of feeding and looking after street dogs onto resident welfare associations? Many of which actually want them removed? Their member are being asked to pay up for the privilege of being harassed by dogs. To quote none other than Mahatma Gandhi on the subject[0]: > It is a sin, it should be a sin, to feed stray dogs, and we should save numerous dogs if we had legislation making every stray dog liable to be shot. Even if those who feed stray dogs consented to pay a penalty for their misdirected compassion we should be free from the curse of stray dogs. Humanity is a noble attribute of the soul. It is not exhausted with saving a few fish or a few dogs. Such saving may even be sinful. If I have a swarm of ants in my house, the man who proceeds to feed them will be guilty of a sin. For God has provided their grain for the ants, but the man who feeds them might destroy me and my family. The mahajan may feel itself safe and believe that it has saved their lives by dumping dogs near my field, but it will have committed the greater sin of putting my life in danger. > Sterilize them and let them live their lives out. Sterilization isn't going to come cheap. This will only end up diverting funds from municipal governments that are already perpetually short on funds. > This is going to be the humane way of ending this menace that will also be culturally acceptable. Except that it simply doesn't seem to be working. ABC measures have been going on in large cities for years but from what I can tell, the numbers just keep going up. There's a reason the rest of the civilized world culls strays. This is what India did too until Maneka Gandhi got her grubby paws on the AWBI. There isn't some deep seated cultural opposition to culling, it's the the result of morality pushed by privileged animal lovers. There are an estimated 6 million dog bites in the county each year. Most victims are children from poor families. 0: Section 448, Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume 36 https://www.gandhiashramsevagram.org/gandhi-literature/mahatma-gandhi-collected-works-volume-36.pdf https://www.gandhiashramsevagram.org/gandhi-literature/mahat...
nomoreusernames 5y ago
indian kids throw rocks on dogs and monkeys when walking home from school to let off steam. i've personally seen a dog go after the kids for it. same with monkeys
whatevertrevor 5y ago
Yeah I don't think the GP is correct, langoors are more passive and mostly mind their own business (at least in North India). Macaques are a menace everywhere.

riazrizvi 5y ago

Someone could crowdsource a documentary and launch their career with the money it would raise...

frontman1988 5y ago
https://youtu.be/nEjkibv6KFQ https://youtu.be/nEjkibv6KFQ Natgeo already has a full season on Monkey thieves.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
Rebelgecko 5y ago
I've been reading Mary Roach's new book (Fuzz) that has an interesting chapter on monkeys in India. Because macaques are afraid of langurs, some people would tie up langurs outside their houses for security. This was eventually deemed inhumane but it probably still happens in wealthy enclaves. Nowadays the Parliament building is protected by 40 humans who imitate langurs.

spaetzleesser 5y ago

I remember when I travelled in India there was a bus stop where monkeys had specialized on stealing food from women. They would leave men alone and only go after women’s backpacks. They were also really good at unscrewing the caps of water bottles.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

MuffinFlavored 5y ago

> carried the dog pup on the tree and just dropped it from there. How "not ok" was the dog pup after that?