Who lives in a city? Lakhs and lakhs of human beings, of course. After all the urban habitat is designed, built, and developed for them and by them. But they are by no means the only inhabitants in these man-made, concrete-lined spaces. Many, many other species nudge, jostle, and struggle with them everyday, to find a little room here.

The animals in the city! Not the pets tucked in the confines of a home, or even the exotic ones that are bred and nurtured in the zoo. This issue of Gobar Times is about the animals that live the stressful city life just like their human partners.

They walk the traffic-infested streets; try their paws and hoofs in a variety of jobs; and generally work hard to make a living. Delhi, like every other city in the world, is teeming with these business-like beasts. Here is a close-up of Delhi’s animal face…

Commoner King of the concrete jungle
The majestic elephant is shackled by this boss before he trudges off to
work. Meanwhile, his mechanised rival is all set to zoom ahead.

Ready to be reined in, partner?
A tonga driver pats his mute business associate.
They have a long day ahead on the road, ferrying people and goods...

The Capital’s landless
livestock

Delhi’s poor depend on them for their
daily income. So the population of goats,
sheep, and cattle is growing.

But what is shrinking is the land
that they can graze and feed on

Creature comforts

They live, work, and die in cities. But like scores of their human counterparts these citizens have no access to the most basic of services--healthcare, security, and retirement benefits. So the few urban sanctuaries that do exist are mostly packed to the brim and sorely cash strapped.

service for the Simians: Monkeys are at loggerheads with human beings. To prevent the city from turning into a battlefield of the primates, a 100-acre sanctuary has been set up at Bhatti mines in outer Delhi. To capture and rehabilitate monkeys in their natural habitat, in a “humane” manner.
 

Cattle zone:

They are transported in lorries, huddled together painfully. Or made to walk miles without food and water. They graze on sparse, dry patches, or get by foraging on garbage dumps.

They move in unfamiliar roads packed with fast-paced vehicles. The injured, ailing, and old are left to die.

The luckier ones find themselves in cowsheds like this one, located in Najafgarh, in the outskirts of the city.

Where did the jungles go?

As urban spaces expand, the wild animals must either move further away, or learn to live in them. The neelgai,the mongoose and the primates have decided to stay. But did they have a choice really?