Large number of monkeys spotted in Silchar; locals believe they have migrated.

Normally, Silchar roads are very busy and noisy, there is no time to stand and stare, no time to see, when woods we pass, where squirrels hide their nuts in grass. Not sure if there are too many squirrels around, but nowadays, Silcharians meet a lot of monkeys while out on the road.

Since the time India went under complete lockdown, several animals were spotted loitering around on the streets across the country. Recently in Silchar, several monkeys were spotted playing around. When locals were shopping vegetables from the street vendors next to the Oriental School in Jail Road Silchar, they spotted close to four monkeys climbing up the school-wall.

The vendors said it’s unusual as not many monkeys are generally spotted in the area. A Shillongpatty resident said she saw around six monkeys a couple of days back when she went to her kitchen. “There were two babies and they looked like one full family. When I saw them they were trying to steal groundnut kept in a bottle from the kitchen. While I shooed them away, I felt bad… at least I could have given them some bananas. Anyway we hardly have any visitors walking in these days,” said the resident.

Another Chandmari Road resident also said she encountered the species sometime yesterday. She said it was her second encounter since the lockdown began. “The monkey was eating an apple kept at the kitchen and when I walked up to scare it, it started teasing me back. Eventually, the monkey took the apple and ran away,” said the Chandmari resident.

Recently, Nilgai was spotted on Noida streets, Malabar Civet was seen on a zebra crossing in Kozhikode. Posh areas in Mumbai- Malabar Hills and Marine Drive also witnessed dolphins sailing instead of plastic waste in the sea. Orissa saw Olive Ridley turtles and apart from these unusual sights, the sounds of birds chirping, and squirrels chit-chatting has replaced the loud honks, almost all around the country.

Well, with very little to do, the time today is to only stand and stare as nature claims a stake at what was always hers.