Presence of Grey Langur triggers panic in Sopore

Sopore, Dec 30: In a rare case, Grey Langur also called as Hanuman langur or Hanuman monkey have been spotted in Batapora locality of Sopore town in North Kashmir, which triggered panic among the locals, while as the wildlife department finds it difficult to capture the animal.
Amid concerns of safety of their kids, residents have appealed to the authorities to rehabilitate the rowdy animal in the nearby forests.
Sensing trouble for the locals, the wildlife department issued an advisory asking people to cooperate with the department.
An official from the wildlife department said that they received calls from the locals about Langur roaming in the area, after which the teams rushed to the spot.
He said that though Langur is a leaf eater and won’t harm the humans, it should not be attacked. “The teams are on job to capture the animal, however, the arboreal behaviour of the animal makes it a bit difficult to capture it,” he said.
Meanwhile, amid rising incidents of entry of wild animals into the human spaces, Wildlife Warden North Kashmir, M M Baba said that due the fragmentation of habitat of wild animals, the cases are increasing and at the same time interference into the habitat of animals is another reason that pushes wild animals towards residential areas.
The department issued an advisory asking people not to move alone early morning and evening hours. The advisory also stressed that movement of children and women should be restricted during evening and morning hours and people must move out of homes in groups.