New Delhi: A grey langur that allegedly charged at pedestrians and motorists in Mumbai’s Andheri West for months has finally been caught. The Maharashtra forest officials are investigating claims that people fed the primate soft drinks and alcohol, and they plan to test blood samples for substance exposure.
The adult male langur was captured around 12.30 am on Wednesday near the Andheri RTO by wildlife rescuers from NGO RAWW and the Mumbai Range of the Thane Territorial Wing of the Maharashtra Forest Department, Mid-day reported.
Forest officials told the publication that they plan to take blood samples from the langur after they received information that some people had been feeding the animal alcohol.
“We plan to take blood samples from the animal to check for traces of alcohol. There is a possibility that the animal’s aggressive behaviour may have been influenced by the consumption of such substances,” an official told Mid-day.
According to Honorary Wildlife Warden Pawan Sharma, the same langur had previously been rescued from Bhavan’s College after allegedly charging at people before returning to Andheri. Over the past two to three months, it is believed to have attacked around 15 people, although no serious injuries were reported.
Sharma said the langur was likely an isolated adult male that had become separated from its troop following territorial conflicts. He said such animals can survive close to human settlements in urban areas because food is easily available and natural predators are absent.
The rescue followed several failed attempts over the past three months, including the installation of a trap cage that the animal repeatedly avoided.
‘Just give it fruit’
The incident also sparked a social media debate, with users questioning if the langur’s behaviour was exaggerated and criticising people who were accused of feeding it alcohol.
One verified Instagram user commented, “I have seen this Langur many times, and I never had an experience of it charging at anyone. Having said that, I hope it is returned to its natural habitat, the forest.”
Others blamed humans rather than the animal. One user wrote, “How can people be so heartless… just give it fruit,” while another criticised the coverage, saying it painted “a negative narrative around animals.”
Another Instagram user commented, “Arrest whoever is giving it alcohol.”
Forest department sources said that the langur was frequently seen near a differently abled man believed to have been feeding it, and allegedly became aggressive when others approached him.
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‘Formal recognition of crimes against animals’
There are multiple documented cases of people force-feeding alcohol to animals in India, often driven by individuals trying to create content for social media or during misbehaved festival celebrations.
In a widely condemned case in Panipat, Haryana, a viral video emerged showing a group of men restraining a buffalo and forcing alcohol down its throat. Following public outrage and a complaint by PETA India, the local police registered an FIR against the accused.
In May, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released its Crime in India 2024 report, officially tracking offences under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 as a distinct category for the first time. The database recorded 9,039 total registered cases and 10,312 arrests nationwide.
The data also revealed a high chargesheet rate of 96.7 per cent and a conviction rate of 80.5 per cent.
“The inclusion of this data marks the formal recognition of crimes against animals within India’s official crime data framework and enables systematic tracking of enforcement across states and Union Territories. It also creates, for the first time, a dataset that can be analysed alongside other crime categories,” Shreemoyee Chakraborty from the People For Animals, had told ThePrint.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)