Fifteen monkeys ‘kill each other after becoming desperate for water during heatwave’

author Jimmy Nsubuga Sunday 9 Jun 2019 6:14 pm

Around 15 primates may have died after clashing over water in 45C temperatures in India, according to reports. Their carcasses were found in and around caves in a forest in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday. District forest officer PN Mishra told NDTV six groups of monkeys had to rely on a limited amount of water after a nearby river dried up. He said: ‘We’re probing all possibilities, including the possibility of conflict between groups of monkeys for water in the forest which led to the death of 15 monkeys from a 30-35-strong group of monkeys living in the caves.’ Mr Mishra said it was possible some of the smaller monkeys had died of dehydration after being scared away from the watering holes by larger primates.

Autopsies carried out on some of the corpses showed they may have died from heatstroke. Mr Mishra added: ‘This is rare and strange as herbivores don’t indulge in such conflicts.’ The heatwave in India has also led to groups of people clashing in Madhya Pradesh as they try to get to much needed water supplies. In total 17 people have died in the last month as a result of the heatwave, with temperatures hitting more than 50C in some places, according to local reports.