14 monkeys die after eating poisoned biscuits stolen from hawker in India
Fourteen monkeys died after eating rat poison-laced biscuits in India, officials said on Monday.
The troop of 16 langurs had snatched the biscuits from a local hawker who was selling them in West Bengal on Sunday.
But the primates fell violently ill soon after.
"Immediately after devouring the biscuits, 14 of them died on the spot and two were admitted to a veterinary hospital," state forest ranger Shyamal Mukherjee told AFP.
An autopsy is being conducted.
Police have opened a criminal investigation against the hawker who fled in the aftermath of the deaths.
Though revered in the majority Hindu nation, monkeys are a major menace, often trashing gardens, office and residential rooftops and even viciously attacking people for food.
Source: AFP
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