Sports authorities in India are taking extra measures to keep monkeys and pigeons away from a major international badminton tournament in Delhi after wildlife intrusions overshadowed another competition earlier this year.

In January, when India hosted the India Open badminton tournament, organisers had hoped the headlines would be about tense matches, some of the world's best players and the excitement of hosting a major tournament in the capital.

Instead, the event became a talking point for very different reasons. There were complaints about air pollution, matches were halted because of pigeon droppings on the court and a monkey was spotted inside the stadium.

But it is the efforts to keep monkeys away from the venue that have attracted the most attention ahead of the tournament.

A video showing a man apparently mimicking the call of a langur - large, long-tailed monkeys found across much of South Asia - went viral on social media in India earlier this week.

Langur's calls have traditionally been used to scare away smaller rhesus macaques, which are common in the city.

Several Indian and international news outlets reported that men who mimic langurs had been hired to keep away other monkeys.

Even two-time badminton Olympic medallist PV Sindhu wrote on X: "Our solutions may be uniquely Indian, but so are our warmth, our spirit and our hospitality."

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5893036&forum_id=2Reputation#50067366)