Monkey mauls caretaker, bites visitor at Delhi Zoo; complaint filed

A caretaker at the Delhi Zoo allegedly suffered severe injuries after a bonnet macaque escaped from its enclosure at the premises and attacked him inside a staff gallery on Monday morning

A caretaker at the Delhi Zoo allegedly suffered severe injuries after a bonnet macaque escaped from its enclosure at the premises and attacked him inside a staff gallery on Monday morning. The animal later also bit a visitor, who has filed a police complaint in the matter, zoo officials said.

The caretaker said the monkey had entered the gallery after its enclosure gate was allegedly not locked properly on Sunday night.

The caretaker, Alok Kumar, said the monkey had entered the gallery after its enclosure gate was allegedly not locked properly on Sunday night. When Kumar entered the area on Monday morning, the monkey attacked him before he could raise an alarm.

“I was attacked before I could do anything or call anyone,” Kumar said, adding that the monkey later ran towards visitors and bit one of them on the thigh. Kumar said he got a finger severed and suffered deep bite wounds on both the legs.

Zoo director Sanjeet Kumar said an inquiry is being conducted to assess the incident. “Necessary strengthening of corrective and preventive measures including measures related to enclosure access, cleaning protocol, staff safety and animal handling will be implemented to prevent recurrence,” Kumar said. He added that the injured worker had been discharged from hospital and was recovering.

The worker also alleged that the enclosure’s locking mechanism was faulty and monkeys had previously also escaped because of the issue. No range officer was present when the attack took place, he added.

A senior zoo official said the same monkey had attacked another staff member in December 2025. He also said there were four resting areas in the monkey’s enclosure that were all left unlocked, highlighting a major lapse in security.