Kalyan: Monkey who loved watching TV and sipping cola caught after 17 days

The residents eventually trapped the animal in a tank and drove him to the forest

The residents of Gangagiri building in Kalyan have bid farewell to their most controversial guest yet - a monkey who entered all the houses and feasted on mangoes and cola while chilling in front of the TV and AC. Over the course of 17 days, while the residents waited for the forest officials to take him away, the monkey became a dear playmate for the children, who would feed him mangoes.

Eventually, the adults took matters into their own hands and sent him to live in the forests of Haji Malang. The monkey business began 17 days ago when the animal suddenly appeared in the home of the residents, Vasantrao Suryawanshi. "Due to the scorching heat and humidity, we used to keep our windows open through the day.

Suddenly, 17 days ago, this monkey entered my home and ate one of our mangoes. My mother saw him inside and started shouting. By the time I got to the scene, though, he had vanished. Because of him, we would keep our windows shut all the time and use the AC instead. Thanks to him, our electricity bill might be high this time."

Entertainment value
Not everyone thought of the monkey as a nuisance or threat. In fact, to many, his disruptions were more entertaining. "He was very nice and never troubled us. But he would enter any house and switch on the TV. Once he switched on the TV in my house. I thought my mother was watching television, but when I entered the room, I saw the monkey with the remote in his hand. I did not know whether I should laugh or throw him out," said another resident, Mahesh Raykar.

The determined monkey would climb in from any open windows he found in Gangagiri building

But Raykar was among the residents who eventually realised that the monkey did not belong among them, after the animal started causing trouble by stealing or breaking the remote controls to the AC or TV.

"Twice or thrice, he switched on the AC in our neighbour's house. When we spotted him, he would vanish with the remote or throw it on the floor," recalled Raykar.

Yet another resident found the monkey rummaging in his fridge, only to pull out a bottle of cola and take a swig from it. "I think he used to like cola. Twice, he opened our fridge and drank coke and took a fruit. I shouted at him, so he ran away. He knew exactly where we kept our fruits and water bottles in the fridge," said Bhima Pawar.

Mangoes were the monkey's favourite food, and the local children would feed him some every day

Children loved him
For the children in the building, the monkey was the highlight of their summer vacation. Vasantrao's son, Rishikesh, a Std VIII student, said, "He used to enter our house from the kitchen window. The first time I saw him grabbing a mango, I got scared. But later, my friends and I started playing with him. He would just imitate whatever we did. It was really fun. Once, we were dancing, so he tried to dance as well, but then ended up just jumping here and there. We are all really upset ever since my parents sent him to the forest."

Sayli Kamble, a Std VII student, said, "I would give him bananas for lunch every day. Once, I gave him a chapati, but he threw it away. When I went home, he came in from the kitchen window and took a mango from our box."

Residents take action
But the adults had had enough of monkeying around. "We called the forest department officials in Kalyan and wrote to them as well, asking them to rescue the monkey. But they told us to trap the monkey and then call them," said Vasantrao.

"We kept an open tank outside the building and placed a few bananas on it. On Monday, around 11 am, the monkey went to eat the bananas. With the help of a stick, we pushed the fruit into the tank, and the monkey went inside too. We immediately covered the opening with a net and called the forest officials. After waiting for over five hours, we just drove the animal to Haji Malang, where we have seen many other monkeys," he added.

Officialspeak
Murlidhar Jatkar, range forest officer from the Thane forest department, said, "The society members informed us about the monkey, and we guided them on how to rescue it. We do not have enough manpower, so we asked an animal welfare volunteer to help them, but by the time he reached the society, the residents had already rescued the animal. That monkey was not harmful to anyone. Haji Malang is a forested area, and they have sent the monkey to the right place. We were following up with the residents at every point."

Also Read: Mumbai: Monkey, who was a menace at Lower Parel station, shot with tranquilliser and rescued