New Delhi runway turns into a zoo

The mix of animals, traffic and people in New Delhi is fascinating any day of the week. When I lived there, pulling up alongside an elephant at a traffic light did happen. Avoiding hitting the cows that meandered at the sides of the roads was a daily venture.

Once, our car grazed a cow just as it twitched its hind end towards traffic. When the side-view mirror was snapped off, my husband quipped, "It must have been in a reflective mood."

There was one section where fruit bats the size of dogs hung upside down from trees, and another part where monkeys gathered in large groups. Camels also meandered through the neighborhood. Hiring one for a kid's birthday party was standard.

Recently, New Delhi has become more zoo-like with the heavy rains. As animals are getting flooded out of their natural habitat homes, they've looked for higher ground and have found it at the New Delhi airport on the runways. Lizards, jackals and birds have shown up in large enough numbers that they've been removed to a wildlife sanctuary.

Just another reason for a flight delay. "Monitor lizard in the way. Please be patient; we'll be taking off shortly."

According to the article, this three to four-foot-long creature can create some significant damage to an airplane. I'll say.

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