When animals take the upper hand

A group of simians once loitered on the Chennai airport runway. The alert air traffic controller informed the pilot who was cleared for take-off and saved the situation. Man may think he has tamed ani

A group of simians once loitered on the Chennai airport runway. The alert air traffic controller informed the pilot who was cleared for take-off and saved the situation. Man may think he has tamed animals. But beasts are known to transgress into human habitats and even take the upper hand occasionally.

Stray dogs sometimes slip in through open gates of airports and enter the operational areas causing an headache to airport officials. At the Chennai airport, pigeons once took refuge on the roof of the passenger lounge. The birds, which had entered through the open doors, refused to vacate their abodes. Immaculately dressed passengers found their dresses soiled by droppings from the roof.

Birds also frequent airfields to catch worms and flies found on vegetation near the runways. Airport officials set off firecrackers near the runways to scare away the birds which compete with planes for airspace. Stray dogs have killed people in Kerala. Even gold medals have been offered for culling stray dogs. Unfortunately, people feed them. When they proliferate and threaten human beings, people want to exterminate them. People owning dogs as pets take them out for walks, which use the roads as comfort rooms. Often dogs dictate terms to their owners.

I saw a big dog sniffing at a bush and refusing to go along with the owner until it was fully sure that the bush had no hidden secrets. The dog owner gave enough tugs at the leash, but the canine would still not budge. Cats are kept as pets. They are adorable as long as they eat what their owners feed them.

When a cat sneaks into a neighbour’s kitchen and gorges on fish kept for a Sunday lunch, it becomes a nuisance, as when a feline brings in the remains of a bandicoot it hunted in the backyard. Tamed elephants are used in temple festivals. When an elephant is in musth or becomes angry, it has been known to trample upon its mahout and other people in the vicinity.

Road users on the Western Ghats often come across elephant herds crossing roads and keeping the vehicles on either side at standstill. Sometimes, single elephants also stand on the road and refuse to move on and create traffic jams. The Central Secretariat in New Delhi is frequented by monkeys during winter. They feed on food found in dustbins there. They are also known to dispose of mail left by postmen at the gates on Saturdays which will be opened by babus only on Monday. Insiders believe that the simians are the souls of bureaucrats “resting” in the netherworld.

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