Oh, Chimpanzee That... Monkey News

Two Monkey Newses in one month - this must be some kind of record.

This one comes to us courtesy of the Freakonomists (who, incidentally, offered the fodder for this blog's first-ever monkey-centric post more than two years ago, via their first-ever blog post).  At issue back then was the descent of a once peaceful group of capuchins into a toxic spiral of greed, gambling and prostitution, precipitated by the introduction of money into the simian society.

Two years later, the situation has only bleakened, as our lesser primate brethren appear to have graduated to political assassinations.

Wild monkeys assaulted the deputy mayor of New Delhi on Saturday as he sat on his terrace, reading the morning paper. In the scuffle, S.S. Bajwa lost his balance, tumbled from his building, and died the next day from injuries sustained in the fall.

The attackers were rhesus macaques, which have overrun parts of Delhi in the past, harassing its citizens with bites and pinches during endless raids for food. The mischievous monkeys have even been known to break into government ministries, tearing up documents and filching snacks from bureaucrats in the Indian capital.