New Delhi, Sept. 15 -- A Delhi Zoo caretaker suffered multiple injuries, including a severed finger and deep bites on both legs, after a monkey escaped its enclosure and attacked the employee inside the staff gallery on the premises. A visitor was also injured in the attack, according to a zoo staffer.
The incident occurred on Monday morning, when caretaker Alok entered the gallery, a space located outside the animal enclosures and used by caretakers and other zoo staff.
Alok said the monkey (bonnet macaque species) came out of its enclosure on Sunday night after its gate was allegedly not locked properly and entered the
caretaker gallery.
The bonnet macaque is a brownish monkey commonly found in southern India and is known for its agility and strong bite.
"The monkey was already there when I entered the caretaker gallery. Before I could do anything or call anyone, it attacked me. There were also a few visitors in the area at the time," Alok stated.
He alleged that the monkey subsequently attacked a visitor as well.
"It ran out and attacked one of the visitors and bit him on the thigh," he said.
Delhi Zoo Director Sanjeet Kumar said that detailed assessment and enquiry into the circumstances leading to biting incident is being undertaken.
"Necessary strengthening of corrective and preventive measures including measures related to enclosure access, cleaning protocol, staff safety and animal handling will be implemented to prevent recurrence of such incident," Kumar said.
He added that worker is recovering and discharged from hospital.
Alok alleged that the enclosure's locking mechanism was faulty and could not be secured properly, allowing the monkey to escape.
"The monkeys tend to come out (of the enclosure) because of this," he said.He further alleged that the animal section in-charge did not regularly visit the enclosure to check on the animals and claimed that no range officer was present when the attack took place.
"At the time of the attack, there was no range officer there," he added.
The incident triggered panic among visitors, who raised an alarm after noticing the attack, following which zoo officials took the injured caretaker to Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital for treatment, he said.
The monkey had attacked another staffer in December 2025. In April, a zookeeper assigned to handle a leopard despite herbivore training suffered injuries, while staffers have raised concerns over manpower shortages and duties.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.