Monkey Muscle, Snake Charmers, and Cowboys

The Lemming is not making this up.

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"Commonwealth Games organisers employ monkeys to protect athletes"
employeebenefits.co.uk (October 1, 2010)

"Organisers of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New-Delhi have hired a team of about 40 large grey langur monkeys to chase away smaller rhesus monkeys, which have been breaking into the Games' accommodation buildings and stealing from athletes' rooms.

"In addition, 50 traditional snake charmers have been employed after an athlete found a live cobra in his room.

"It has also been reported that an emergency team of cowboys have been brought on board in anticipation of a demonstration by a farmers' group, which has threatened to drive herds of cows and buffalos into the city...."

The Lemming isn't sure that "hired" is quite the right verb to use the arrangement with the langur monkeys. The idea of using bigger (and, one hopes, more civil) monkeys to control the unruly rhesus crowd seems to make sense. And is arguably more humane (and probably more effective) than, say, setting traps.

Related posts:

• " 'Jerusalem,' 'Land of Hope and Glory,' and 'Knees Up Mother Brown' "
  (October 6, 2010)
• "2010 Commonwealth Games, Day Two: Medals, Laurels, and the Usual Complaints"
  (October 4, 2010)
• "2010 Commonwealth Games and a Sensible Statement"
  (October 3, 2010)
• "Lemming Tracks: 2010 Commonwealth Games Start Today"
  (October 3, 2010)
• "Lemming Tracks: 2010 Commonwealth Games and Bad Publicity"
  (September 26, 2010)
• "2010 Commonwealth Games' Dehli Village: Oops"
  (September 21, 2010)