Monkey Problems

The BBC reports that the deputy mayor of Delhi has died after falling from the terrace of his house while trying to fend off an attack by wild monkeys. Apparently, packs of marauding monkeys are fairly common in the city, probably due in large part to the destruction of their habitat by urban growth.

The article mentions several potential solutions to the problem which have been implemented in lieu of killing the monkeys, which would violate the beliefs of devout Hindus. One of these solutions was to "train bands of larger, more ferocious" monkeys to attack the smaller monkeys.

This sounds to me like a really bad idea. First, how is training one group of monkeys to eradicate another group different from just killing them to begin with? And second, what do they think these bigger, more ferocious monkeys will do for a hobby once the population of smaller monkeys has been decimated?

Attempts by humans to use one animal species to control another often lead to unintended results...and not in a good way.