Mumbai: Bandra club member survives monkey attack

A langur bares his teeth as he bites Sarayu Ahuja

Renowned writer Sarayu Ahuja was bitten on her left arm by a langur at the upscale Otters Club in Bandra West on Wednesday morning when she was having coffee with friends. "Yesterday, as per my routine, I was having coffee with some friends at the club. This monkey came and joined us at the table. Sighting the monkey was not a surprise; it has been spotted at the club quite often. It hops onto tables, sometimes members give it something to eat. So I was not startled to see it," Ahuja said.

The outside of Otters Club in Bandra West on Wednesday. Pic/Nimesh Dave

The writer added, "Some of my companions got up and left though. I did not as I had been taught never to move or get up abruptly when near an animal so as not to startle it. I reached for my coffee and suddenly this monkey grabbed my hand. I was wearing a windcheater, which acted as a sheath. I felt his claws but not the teeth. The monkey then bent down, tasted the coffee, and spat it out."

A monkey cools off in the Khar Gymkhana swimming pool a month and a half ago; (left) the simian on the diving board at the club

Ahuja said, "I had not quite processed what had happened. I was more worried about my mobile phone which was on the table and it seemed to have disappeared! The monkey jumped off and hopped into some trees thereafter. Dr Sandeep Chopra, a club member and friend, told me to first wash my arm, which was bleeding. Then, he gave me a tetanus and an anti-rabies shot. I need to have five anti-rabies shots in all, spaced out over a few days." The Bandra resident said with a laugh, "Incidentally, I located my mobile phone, maybe I should have shared my coffee with the rude intruder!"

Cage scene

The Otters Club moved quickly contacting Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW). Ashok Motwani, chief executive officer (CEO) of the club, said, "I informed them and they answered that the forest department has been informed and will take the necessary action."

Otters Club in Bandra West. Pic/Nimesh Dave

Pawan Sharma, founder and president, RAWW and honorary wildlife warden with the forest department, said on Wednesday evening, "We are leaving for the club to evaluate the situation and see how we can best handle it. We must remember this is an intelligent animal, it may not be lured into a cage we install in order to rescue it. We will also have certain dos and don'ts for members, after talking to the club management."

Table manners

Shocked Otters Club members claimed this was a familiar monkey and a friendly one. A member recalled seeing the monkey at a breakfast table, where he was sitting days ago. "He eats the choicest food, even drinks something and disappears. He has a black face and a very long tail. I think black-faced monkeys are friendly while red-faced ones are more aggressive," he said. The Khar Gymkhana, too, had witnessed a monkey on the club premises around a month and a half ago.

Pawan Sharma, founder and president, RAWW

Gaurav Kapadia, Khar Gymkhana president, said, "We had a monkey visiting the club often at the time. There was a video doing the rounds on WhatsApp of the monkey swimming in the club pool. I think we called the BMC and were informed that we had to call the forest department. However, the monkey disappeared in a day or two post that."

One can hear people speaking in the video in the background stating, "See this monkey, I believe there are a lot of monkeys in Goregaon." Another person says, "I spotted one outside my building." A woman had the last word, stating, "At least these monkeys can access clubs where memberships are simply unaffordable for most. These clubs are out of our league, but the monkeys, they have a free membership to these swish clubs."

Monkey business in Mumbai

Three species of primates are found in Mumbai - the rhesus macaque, bonnet macaque and langur. There has been an increase in the number of negative interactions between humans and primates.

Range Forest Officer Rakesh Bhoir from the Mumbai Range, Thane Forest Department (Territorial), said, "On an average, my office receives two to three calls complaining about monkeys entering buildings and housing societies daily. One reason for the negative interactions between humans and primates is people feeding them. A woman was injured in an encounter with a langur on Wednesday. We have created awareness in the area and our teams are taking efforts to rescue the langur."

Sources from the forest department told this newspaper that in the past 10 days, there have been three instances of human-primate conflict in Mumbai. On Monday, an 11-year-old boy was injured by a monkey at Mahalaxmi but, thankfully, he sustained minor injuries. On November 21, a monkey had charged at a railway employee at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus yard.

Honorary Wildlife Warden of Thane and President of NGO RAWW, Pawan Sharma said, "All three incidents are quite unfortunate, the forest department has evaluated the situation and is initiating necessary actions as per the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The officials have visited the spots where the negative interactions occurred, and all three victims have already taken preventive treatment. To prevent any further conflicts, the department has decided to rescue the animals and rehabilitate them. Similarly, the authorities concerned from each area have been given an advisory to follow until the rescue operation is completed."

Sharma said the incidents at CSMT, Mahalaxmi and Otters Club involved a rhesus macaque, bonnet macaque and langur respectively. "All the animals had been ranging freely near the locations for many days without any negative interactions with humans. We are trying to find out what caused such unusual behaviour," he added.

Managing monkey menace mindfully

1 How to prevent monkeys from entering your surroundings?
According to experts, this is not an easy task as monkeys are a part of urban biodiversity and the food chain. However, keeping premises clean, managing edible garbage and not feeding or entertaining them at all helps stave them off. Bamboo scaffolding should be removed as soon as repair work is done so that monkeys don't get easy access to homes as they are creatures of habit. Apart from scaffolding, they use gas pipelines to gain access to kitchens and drain pipes to enter other spaces.

2 What to do if a monkey invades your space?
Make sure you secure yourself, children and elders. Allow it to go away on its own by giving way. Keep calm. Do not scare, entertain or provoke.

3 What is immediate medical care if a monkey bites/attacks you?
One must immediately clean the area with antiseptic lotion and rush to the nearest doctor. Precautionary tetanus and anti-rabies vaccines are necessary if one is scratched or bitten.

Sparse history of violence

In the past two years, there have rarely been any serious attacks on people. Most monkeys are free-ranging solitary animals. They usually try to snatch food from people or attempt to scare them to show territorial dominance.

What happens if a rogue monkey is trapped?

Any primate trapped amid a conflict situation is first medically and psychologically examined for behaviour triggers. Most of the time, it is the element of surprise or confrontation that causes them to attack. Animals showing unusual behaviour are sent to rescue centres for lifetime care and those which have the scope are rehabilitated.

With inputs from Ranjeet Jadhav