Temple trouble' lands in Thiruvananthapuram zoo

Thiruvananthapuram: Chinnu, a grey langur aka Hanuman monkey which created havoc at Kasargod Madhur temple, has been brought to the city zoo. Forest officials were unsuccessful in capturing the female initially. But finally, a five-member team from the zoo went all the way to Kasargod and captured her with the help of Ravish Kumar aka Unni who befriended the rogue langur.

It was a few months back the 11-year-old was spotted near the temple. From day one it created havoc among the local people. Mr Kumar, animal lover and a local trader, befriended her and brought it to his home and gave her a name, Chinnu. Forest officials intervened and gave permission to him to keep the langur in custody. But Dr Jacob Alexander, senior veterinary surgeon at the Thiruvananthapuram Zoo, told DC that she must have been abandoned at Kasargod as langurs have not been spotted before in the area.

“Unfortunately, the growth rate and bones are not so good. Also, she has got dryness in the right eye. We thought of darting her and then putting her in the cage. But Mr Kumar trapped the langur by keeping the food inside the cage,” he said. A five-member team comprising of zoo supervisor C. Thulaseedharan Pillai, keeper A. Radhakrishnan, driver Shameer Muhammed, curator P. S. Priyarajan along with Dr Alexander brought her here.