Delhi zoo employee attacked by monkey while cleaning enclosure
The employee, who did not wish to be named, said he was alone inside the enclosure when the macaque attacked him
New Delhi
A Delhi zoo staffer tasked with cleaning the bonnet macaque enclosure was mauled by a monkey on Tuesday, and suffered multiple injuries, including a deep bite to his left leg and a part of a finger being severed.
The employee, who did not wish to be named, said he was alone inside the enclosure when the macaque attacked him.
“There were two other people with me, along with the head keeper when I went to clean the enclosure. However, the others gave me the key and left to attend other duties. One of the macaques bit me on my left leg and when I was trying to free myself, the tip of a finger of my left hand was also bit off. I sustained injuries to my other hand too,” the employee, who is from Uttar Pradesh, said.
He said that visitors raised the alarm upon noticing the attack, following which the zoo administration took him to the Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital for treatment.
“A similar incident had happened with me in 2016 when I used to clean the tiger cage. The zoo administration refuses to take any responsibility for such incidents,” the staffer said.
A zoo official, on condition of anonymity, pointed out gaps in management.
“Why was he alone inside the enclosure while cleaning? No one is supposed to be alone inside an animal enclosure as a thumb rule; and why was the keeper not there? The administration should take responsibility for the same, especially since these incidents keep repeating,” the official said.
The director of the zoo did not respond to requests for comment.
In a similar incident in April, a zookeeper trained to handle herbivores was given the responsibility of taking care of a leopard, which caused him multiple injuries. The zookeeper had said that they were asked to take up additional responsibilities due to a shortage of staff.
