Police armed with catapults have been assigned to protect U.S. President Donald Trump from a horde of feral monkeys during his visit to India.
Between 500 and 700 rhesus macaques live near the Taj Mahal. The monkeys are notorious for harassing visitors while hunting for food in and around the monument in the northern city of Agra.
Officials stepped up security after two French tourists were attacked by the animals as they took selfies in May 2018. And later that year a 12-day-old baby was killed by a monkey after being snatched from his home in the city.
Local residents have expressed fears that the marauding macaques could pounce on the U.S. president and the first lady during their official two-day trip to India.
”The terror of the monkeys is so pervasive that women and children are scared of going up on the roof of their houses, which have almost been taken over by monkeys,” one resident told India Today.
“If such a large troop of monkeys attacks Donald Trump’s entourage, it will be a disaster," The Independent cited him as saying.
While the US Secret Service are responsible for the president’s inner ring of security during the visit, the local police force has issued its officers with extra hand-held catapults to scare off any encroaching primates.
Trump is due to arrive in India on 24 February. The president is also expected to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, hold talks with the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and meet business leaders at the U.S. embassy.
