New Delhi abandons its langur monkey 'protection squad'
City bows to environmentalists over simian squads that keep smaller rhesus monkeys at bay
They were an elite squad that provided protection in the Indian capital - until now.
The large black-faced langur monkeys have been on guard for decades to keep out armies of smaller rhesus monkeys that plague Delhi, protecting events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games and visiting foreign dignitaries, and keeping order in the hallowed halls of parliament.
But a move by the New Delhi government will see the langurs eased out from such duties after protests by environmentalists.
Tens of thousands of rhesus monkeys have swarmed over urban India.
In densely populated areas the wild monkeys occasionally have run-ins with humans when they look to steal or snatch food.
Cases abound in New Delhi of the monkeys attacking people when they are confronted.
As culling of the animals is resisted by devout Hindus - who revere them as incarnations of the monkey god Hanuman - and animal activists, langurs were deployed to scare them away.
