Monkey Thieves

Monkey Thieves बंदर चोर
Rhesus macaques of India
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Monkey Thieves (Hindi: बंदर चोर), also known as Rebel Monkeys, is a documentary series produced by National Geographic, examining the habits and social interactions of rhesus macaques in the city of Jaipur, in northwestern India. Monkey Thieves follows a family of urban macaques within Jaipur's 'Pink City' and all the drama that comes from living close to humans. The series tells the story of the "Galta Gang", a sixty-strong troop that lives in the Galta Temple, a beautiful Hindu temple on the outskirts of Jaipur. This enduring and entertaining bunch live in luxury because worshipers believe they personify Hanuman, the cherished 'Monkey God' who banished evil in the Indian epic Ramayana. Defending their prized home from invaders including neighboring langur monkeys and other troops of macaques, as well as exploring Jaipur in search of food and adventure, keeps this remarkable troop in action.

Plot

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Langurs in Jaipur

Each episode starts with an introduction of the Galta Gang, a very successful troop of rhesus macaques that live in the Galta Temple within the city of Jaipur, northwestern India. Led by alpha male Tarak and his mate Rani, the troop prizes and defends their precious temple home. It's a privileged lifestyle, dining on food items handed over by worshipers visiting the temple as an offering of respect to Hanuman (the 'Monkey God' of India) and a continuous supply of water in pools fed by underground springs. It seems like paradise, but there is dissension in the ranks. Zamir, though the largest and most powerful male in the troop, is yet to be the leader and has ambitions of his own. He wants the crown for himself, and he is not afraid to use any means necessary to seize the top job. In order to gain the support he needs among lower-ranking members, the devious primate needs to show he can feed the family. But his raids on kitchens, cars and homes soon get him a reputation as the biggest monkey burglar in all of Jaipur. Zamir is eventually ousted from the troop and spends months wandering the busy city streets on his own. Eventually he joins another troop, and in no time he's up to his old tricks. But before he can even put his plans in action, the alpha of his new gang is trapped by the city's monkey catcher along with many of his top lieutenants, and Zamir suddenly finds himself in charge. When the annual monsoon rains fail to appear as scheduled, a drought threatens the desert city's food supply and Jaipur's human population has no surplus resources to divert to the Galta Gang. Fewer people willing to hand out food to the macaques at the temple means empty bellies, forcing Tarak to leave their precious temple home unguarded as he leads his family into the city in search of feeding opportunities. Their ambitious neighbors the langur monkeys try to steal ownership of the ancient temple but the Galta Gang returns, launching into battle and forcing the langurs to flee. Life for the Galta Gang has many surprises. Zamir and his new troop launch a takeover bid for the temple but the Galta Gang holds them off as well. Zamir is eventually captured by the city's 'Monkey Catcher' and relocated 70 miles away. Tarak, the long-term alpha male of the Galta Gang, dies from wounds he sustains during the battle with Zamir's troop. Rani, the queen of the troop, also disappears, turning up days later with her newest baby at her breast. With their king gone and Zamir no longer a threat, Kamal, Tarak's second in command, takes over leadership of the Galta Gang.

Season two of the series rejoins the Galta Gang several months after the death of Tarak. Kamal, the new alpha male, does not have the skills necessary to lead the troop. But there's an even greater concern. The Galta Gang's population has reached over 80 members. Macaque troops usually undergo a process known as fission when their number approach this level. Lower-class members including featured teenagers Bipin, Yash and Tito, plus as many as 40 others, splinter away from the main group of ruling elite including queen Rani, alpha Kamal and the other upper-class members. The splinter troop splits off under the rule of a new leading pair, alpha male Devdin and queen Chaia, establishing residence in the city after finding themselves unable to rejoin the Galta Gang. Zamir, the ex-Galta Gang rebel who has been living in the wild since he was relocated by the 'monkey catcher', finds his way back to Jaipur, searching for his original family, the Galta Gang. The Galta Gang lose their temple home to a troop of langur monkeys and are forced to find a new territory in the city. Zamir continues his mission to find Rani and his old troop, but instead he runs into the new splinter troop. Rani and the Galta Gang struggle to establish a territory, and during a run-in with the monkey catcher, Rani's youngest offspring Teejay goes missing. New alpha male Kamal cannot live up to his role as leader and the troop becomes unstable. Little Teejay, Rani's lost son, tries to find his missing family but instead winds up back at the Galta Temple, where he discovers a new group of primates have taken up residence, the langur monkeys. Hungry and alone, Teejey climbs a high tension power pylon and suffers an electric shock similar to the one Kavi experienced in the first season. He is taken to the same animal rescue charity hospital, 'Help in Suffering' where he receives emergency medical treatment, but he dies from his wounds. The rest of the Galta Gang scrapes a meager living in the streets of Jaipur where they eventually run into the splinter troop, who cause them to flee in fear. Zamir eventually locates Rani and the Galta Gang, but instead of launching an attack, he leads the troop to find food. Eventually he even leads them back to the Galta Temple, where under his leadership they are able to evict the langur monkeys and take back residence of their temple home. Zamir, once the biggest villain of the troop, is now the alpha male of the Galta Gang. With Rani at his side he is finally lord and master of the Galta Temple.

Galta Gang

The following macaques were featured in the show and only these were observed and mentioned as members of the Galta Gang.

Tarak

At the beginning of the show, we are introduced to Tarak, the 10-year-old alpha male of the Galta Gang, a troop of rhesus macaques who live in the Galta Temple situated within the Pink City of Jaipur, northwestern India. With the support of his partner Rani (the alpha female), Tarak has led the troop for over three years. He has fathered the majority of the troop youngsters including his latest offspring with Rani, Esha. Although secure in his position, one of Tarak's biggest concerns is disposal and his devious subordinate Zamir has his eye on the top job. Tarak continues to try to maintain control over his troop while Zamir proves his good attributes of being a leader with his food finding skills. Fortunately Tarak knows that Zamir is more powerful than he is and that he his out his game with Zamir and knows that Zamir will eventually defeat him and take command of the galta gang. Rani the alpha female gives Tarak support of the troop and her sisterhood. During a drought season, Tarak leads the Galta Gang into the city where they undertake burglary in stealing food from people's households, a far cry from the luxury they are used to at the Galta Temple where food is just handed over to them. With Tarak's success in leading the troop to find food means the guarantee of survival of the troop and its youngsters. Unfortunately during one foray, some of troop are trapped by the 'monkey catcher' and relocated, Tarak's troop with half the number of individuals originally in the Galta troop. As drought hits, the burden on Tarak's shoulders increases and at any sign of weakness is a sign for Zamir to try a take over bid. With Zamir's eventual ousting by the Galta Gang females, Tarak becomes a lot more at ease and his leadership over the troop secures, so much so that he was able lead his troop into fitting off a troop of langur monkeys from the neighbouring forest. Zamir returns with his own troop and launches a take over bid for ownership of the temple, and during the fight Tarak gets injured and disappears, along with his heavily pregnant queen Rani. The rest of his troop manage to see off Zamir's troop under the leadership of his second in command, Kamal. Tarak and Rani remain missing for a day or so until finally Tarak is found to have died from his wounds, leaving his troop under Kamal, his trusted right-hand man. Rani re-appears with her new baby, Tarak's last offspring with Rani, Teejay.

Rani

As the alpha female of the Galta Gang, Rani is the queen of the troop and she and her sisterhood are the core of the Galta Gang. At the start of the show, Rani has a new baby, Esha and she and other nursing mothers begin to admire Zamir's food-finding skills, though they continue to support Tarak as the alpha male. Zamir launched an attack on various members of the troop and attacked Rani, which led to the Galta Gang sisterhood defending their queen and ousting Zamir. Through the hardships of the dry season, Rani and Tarak lead the troop through the city to find food and witness the capture of several of their family members by the city's 'monkey catcher'. Her youngest daughter, Esha, the next to become queen of the troop, goes missing in one of her forays and ends up coming face to face with Zamir, the Galta Gang outcast. Fortunately Rani was re-united with Esha though being pregnant again meant that Esha was no longer going to be her only priority. The Galta Gang reach the Temple and get attacked by Zamir's new-found troop. Rani and Tarak disappear and at the end of the first season Rani reappears with her new baby, Teejay, though her lifelong partner Tarak did not make it back. Kamal, once Tarak's number two, takes over leadership of the troop with Rani's support, though he fails to impress her when the Galta Gang lose their temple to a troop of langur monkeys. Half of the troop of lower-class members were ousted by Rani and her upper class individuals, making the Galta Gang short in power to defend the temple from invasion. Kamal fails to be able to lead the troop to find food, leaving Rani and the other females searching for food in the streets. Her young son Teejey disappears only to appear later injured by an electric shock and died at an animal charity. Life for Rani and her remaining troop becomes harder, including being chased off by their splinter troop which they run into in one occasion. Rani and her troop are pursued by a group of bachelor males when Kamal is unable to defend the troop. During a food raid, Kamal gets the opportunity to prove his worth to Rani by leading the troop to find food, but gets captured later by the monkey catcher, leaving Rani and the remaining troop members without a leader. Zamir eventually finds Rani and leads her and finds food two times in a day and her troop back into fighting for their temple. Rani and the Galta Gang regains ownership of the Galta Temple from the langur monkeys, with Zamir as the troop's alpha male. Rani soon knows life just got better, and that Zamir was a much better leader of the troop than Kamal and Tarak and that nothing can take control of the troop as long as Zamir is there with her protecting the troop.

Zamir

Zamir, a large 9-year-old male and much stronger and more powerful than Tarak, is the biggest troublemaker in the troop and from the start of the show it features him having leadership ambitions. He constantly tests Tarak's leadership and control over the troop. Zamir gets his opportunity to prove his worth to Queen Rani by leading the troop into finding food, though he fails to take over control from Tarak. Frustrated, Zamir attacks several troop members including Rani, resulting in the troop of females ousting him from the Galta Temple. Zamir strikes out on his own and after many months wondering the streets solitary he reappears to want to join an established troop. Zamir pursues Fang's troop at the city market and tries to consort with one of the females in the periphery, but unfortunately his plan fails and he flees. Zamir continues to wander the streets, causing mayhem with the human residents, making him the biggest 'monkey menace' in Jaipur. During one of his food pursues, he ends up wondering into the territory of another troop, Vasu's troop, and instead of being attacked, he gets accepted. During one of the food forays, Vasu, the alpha male of the new troop, and several others get caught by the 'monkey catcher', leaving Zamir in charge of his own troop. One of the Galta Gang members, Kavi, who was cared for at an animal charity after suffering an electric shock eight months ago, is released and as a mistake of identity ends up joining Zamir's troop. Zamir maintains his quest to take control over the Galta Temple and vengeance to his old troop. He eventually leads his troop in war with the Galta Gang though in his first attempt fails, but it leads to his arch rival Tarak being seriously injured. At the back of the temple, Zamir's greed gets the better of him and he ends up falling into a trap by the monkey catcher, who has finally managed to capture 'Mr. devious Zamir' after months of pursuit of this particular macaque. Zamir gets relocated to a forest along with several others of his troop and learns to adapt to his new life with a wild macaque troop, though hitches a ride in a truck heading towards the city of Jaipur. Back in the city after months seven months away, it does not take long for Zamir to remember where he is and he immediately seeks his old troop, the Galta Gang. Zamir wonders the streets for weeks searching for the Galta Temple, and ends up running into the Galta Gang's splinter troop, where he is easily recognised by Bippin and the troop's alpha male Devdin who knows he is no match for Zamir, though Zamir flees, not looking for a fight but for Rani and the Galt Gang elite, who he finally finds just after the capture of Kamal, the Galta Gang's alpha male. During Rani and her sisterhood's encounter with a roving group of bachelor males, Zamir rushes to the defence of the Galta Gang females and in doing so wins the favour of Rani, even though the pair have not seen each other for months. Zamir becomes the alpha male of the Galta Gang and proves to be more of a strong leader than the former alpha male than Kamal and Tarak. Zamir leads Rani and her troop to feeding opportunities and eventually, back to Galta Temple, where Zamir had been before once he returned but found a troop of langurs. The Galta Gang manage to re-own the temple from the fleeing langurs, though Zamir does not make it back at first after pursuing the langurs in the forest, before finally reappearing, having completed his mission of returning Rani and her troop back to their temple. Zamir becomes the new alpha male and lord of Galta Temple and the Galta Gang at the end of the show.

Kamal

At the first season, Kamal is featured as alpha male Tarak's second in command after Tarak disappeared following a battle between the Galta Gang and Zamir's troop, Kamal manages to lead the troop into finishing the battle to keep hold of their temple. Kamal maintains his vigil for the return of Tarak though eventually finds the old leader to have died from his wounds overnight somewhere at the back of the temple. The leadership of the Galta Gang falls to Kamal who manages to gain acceptance from Rani. Their neighbours, the langur monkeys, launch an attack on the temple and Kamal, instead of being upfront defending the troop, flees leading the rest of the Galta Gang fleeing from the temple, leaving Galta Temple in the ownership of the langur monkeys. Kamal continues to fail to impress queen Rani and prove his worth. While still living at the temple, Kamal and Rani ousted half of their troop who formed a splinter troop in the city, and Kamal and the Galta Gang run into them. Once again, Kamal fails to defend the troop and the Galta Gang flees from what were their underlings. However, during a raid in a hospital, Kamal manages to prove his food-finding skills and finally impresses queen Rani, though in that very same day Kamal gets caught in a trap of the 'monkey catcher' and gets driven away for relocation, leaving Rani and her troop without an alpha male.

Binita

Binita is Rani's oldest daughter. She is referred to as 'Quirky Binita' and 'Eccentric Binita' because of her unusual preferences. Binita prefers odd activities like staring at her troop through a piece of plastic, gazing at her own image in a pool of water, or dressing up in fabrics, and doesn't seem to share her troop's drive for finding food. She's an overly enthusiastic babysitter, while female macaques frequently engage in "aunting", Binita takes it too far when she kidnaps her baby sister from her distracted mother. Rani reacts quickly, and Esha is returned unharmed.

Esha

Esha is Rani's second and youngest daughter, which makes her future queen of the Galta Gang. In season one episodes feature Esha as a baby who grows up into an inquisitive youngster. During her forays to steal some flowers she gets lost and finds herself as a target for Zamir, the Galta Gang outcast as she played with another youngster from Fang's troop. Esha flees from her pursuer and fortunately manages to get reunited with her mother Rani and her family. After the battle in the temple between the Galta Gang and Zamir's troop, Rani and Tarak disappear. Esha becomes restless with the disappearance of her mother before Rani finally reappears with her new baby, Esha's new little brother, Teejay, who disappeared in season two episodes following.

Anoop

Anoop is one of the young males in the Galta Gang and is featured becoming obsessive over ice-cream which he remembered having led a raid on an ice-cream cart in season one and his craving for it. In season one he is seen as one of the followers of the trio Bipin, Yash and Tito.

Kavi

During one feeding foray, the troop fled from the scene with the returning human and Kavi took the high electric wires to try and escape, but unfortunately suffered a massive electric shock. He was taken in and cared for by an animal charity organisation called 'Help in Suffering' and nurtured before being taken back to the city for possible release. Unfortunately the Galta Gang, his former family, could not recognise him and the sight of a monkey in a cage triggered a flight response from the troop, leaving Kavi with no chance of being able to be reunited with them. When Kavi was released, he ended up joining a rival troop, Zamir's troop, instead of his family and only realised this when Zamir's troop marched their way to the Galta Temple for battle. Kavi broke way from the mistaken troop and ended up back with the Galta Gang and his pals, Bipin, Yash and Tito.

Teejay

Teejay was Rani's youngest son and last offspring of Tarak with Rani. During a run in with the monkey catchers, Teejay fled and ended up lost, searching the streets for his family which ended up in him finding his way to the Galta Temple, but instead of finding his family he found the temple's new residence, the langur monkeys. Teejay continued his solo forays and ended up receiving an electric shock when he tried to climb the electric wires. He was taken in by an animal charity organisation known as 'Help in Suffering' and received a lot of care but died.

The following members below formed the Splinter troop featured in season two of Monkey Thieves, though the first three also appeared in season one.

Bipin

Bipin was one of the rowdy teenage males in the Galta Gang. He suffered from depression when his best pals, Yash and Tito, were captured along with several other Galta Gang troop members by the city's monkey catcher. Fortunate enough the Galta Gang captures managed to make their way back to city and Bippin was relieved to be reunited with Yash and Tito. In season two, Bipin and around forty other lower ranking of the Galta Gang were ousted from Galta Temple by queen Rani and her upper-class members. The Splinter troop established a territory in the city, only to encounter the Galta Gang (ousted from the temple by the langurs) but saw them off.

When Bipin, Yash and Tito reached sexual maturity, the splinter group exiled them. They became three bachelors roaming the city. They tried to join other gangs, but the Alpha's did not want them. Eventually, Yash and Tito found love and were each accepted into two separate groups. Bipin was left to wander alone. He met two rambunctious, trouble-making twin boys, Gangol and Ragin, who accepted Bipin; but he hadn't been accepted by the Alpha nor the group yet.

Meanwhile, the monkey catcher thought he had plotted a great plan by tricking the group into entering an apartment by providing their favorite cookies and treats. His ultimate plan was to relocate the twins about 90 miles outside of the city, into a forest with other macaques. The monkey catcher's hope was to catch the thieving twins, but only one of them went in with several others in the group. The monkey catcher closed the door, thinking that catching one was better than none. Watching outside were Bipin and the other twin. They heard the screams and cries of the other monkeys and wanted to do something about it. So, after a quick look at the door, the twin unlocked it and Bipin pushed it open. Soon, all the monkeys in the group were free and the monkey catcher's plans were again foiled! And after his heroics, Bipin was welcomed into the gang with open arms!

But the monkey catcher wasn't done yet. He decided to stop trying to catch the twins and just herd the gang up to the Galta Temple, where monkeys lived like royalty. Of course, the monkey catcher didn't take into account that Galta was already claimed by the original Galta Gang and for them to take the temple, they would have to pick a fight. When the twins and their gang reached the temple, they were mesmerized by the paradise of pools and beautiful ground. They wanted it! But Bipin took one look at the Galta Temple and his former family and quickly changed sides!

Unfortunately, the Galta Gang didn't have a king and queen at the time. Tarak had passed away in another brawl to win the temple. Zamir returned to claim his seat as king, but disappeared after Queen Rani got sick and went missing. It took a long time before Rani's youngest, Princess Esha, realized she wasn't coming back. Sadly Rani passed away at 18. Esha slowly started taking on the role of queen and two males were in the running for king. But when Gangol and Ragin's group attacked, they did not yet have a king. So, it looked as if the twins and their gang were going to win.

Believe it or not, out of nowhere came a muscular silhouette on the cliffs. It was Zamir. He returned to Galta and the twins' gang knew they didn't stand a chance. After the brawl, Zamir shockingly lay down in submission, leaving the king spot open for someone else for Elsa to choose ... and she chose Gangol.

Yash

Yash was one of three rowdy teenage males and best pals with Bipin and Tito. During a feeding foray, Yash, Tito and several other members of the Galta Gang were captured by the monkey catcher and relocated in the forest. The captured individuals eventually managed to find their way back to Jaipur city and reunite with the Galta Gang. In season two, Yash and around forty other lower ranking Galta Gang members left the temple to form the splinter troop after being ousted by queen Rani and her upper-class family.

Tito

Tito was one of three rowdy teenage males and best pals with Bipin and Yash. During a feeding foray, Yash, Tito and several other members of the Galta Gang were captured by the monkey catcher and relocated in the forest. The captured individuals eventually managed to find their way back to Jaipur city and reunite with the Galta Gang. In season two, Tito and around forty other lower ranking Galta Gang members left the temple to form the splinter troop after being ousted by queen Rani and her upper-class family.

Devdin

After the lower ranking members of the Galta Gang were ousted from the temple by Rani, Devdin, a subordinate male, took leadership of his small splinter troop and became their new alpha male, with the support of his queen Chaia and their baby Dimple and led his troop out of the temple and into the city searching for a new territory in take ownership of. During a run in with the bachelor males, Devdin led his troop out of the Pink City and into a desolate old castle building before deciding to lead his splinter troop back to the city and establishing a new territory, including fending off and the Galta Gang elite from their newfound patch of real-estate.

Other featured macaques

Fang

Fang, named by his scar at the left side of his mouth, was the Galta Gang's most feared enemy. Fang and his troop laid claim to the city's market and Fang vigorously defended his territory from other troops, including fending off Zamir when he tried to consort with one of his females.

Vasu

Vasu was the original alpha male of the troop Zamir joined after he reappeared from exile. He was impressed by Zamir's food-finding skills and in doing so allowed him to join his troop. During a feeding foray at a grain market, Zamir set Vasu and a handful of his troop members up and got them caught by the city's 'monkey catcher' and were relocated to a faraway forest outside the city of Jaipur. Vasu and his captured followers learn to adapt to their new environment after realising that they could never make it back to the city of Jaipur.

Episode listing

Season 1

Episode 1: Apartment Job

We are introduced to the Galta Gang, a 60-strong troop of wild but urbanised rhesus macaques who live in Galta Temple residing in the city of Jaipur, northwestern India. Tarak is the alpha male, at ten years old and has been in charge of the troop for nearly three years. He and his troop live a life of luxury within the compound of the Galta temple where they are fed a continuous variety of food by passing worshippers who pay their respects to lord 'Hanuman', the 'Hindu Monkey God'. With so much food and an abundance of water at the spring pool situated at the lower compound of the temple, the Galta Gang have little reason to leave home and go to the ever busy streets of Jaipur but now there is a setback. The long-awaited monsoon rains are late this year and food is running out, which means that Tarak and his troop are being given less and less food as people have to save what they have for themselves, meaning that there is little to give monkeys. As the drought continues meaning less food for the troop, Tarak leads the gang out into the city streets in search of feeding opportunities. Rhesus macaques are highly adaptable and can thrive almost anywhere, for this reason the Galta Gang, like all the 50 other troops of rhesus macaques roaming the city of Jaipur, have adapted to living in close proximity to humans and can navigate through the network of electrical wires around the city streets. The three most troublesome youngsters, Bipin, Yash and Tito, along with young Kavi get up to their usual mischievous antics. Kavi tries to chew on an electrical cable and gets a small and brief electrical shock, which was just a warning of the potential of the electrical cables designed to carry voltage not monkeys. After travelling the streets for a few hours, Rani, the Queen of the troop, decides to engage the troop in some grooming. Rani is the alpha female, is fifteen years old and already has six offspring. Her youngest and latest baby, Esha, automatically inherits the throne and has the highest rank in comparison to not only her older sisters but also all the females in troop. While most of the troop members enjoying a grooming session, the troublesome teens Bipin, Yash, Tito and tag-a-long Kavi resort to a game of jumping into a water trough, despite the interruption of visiting street dogs to the trough for a drink, before being fended off by the teens. Eventually the troop come across a feeding opportunity; an open window of an apartment. The human owners were out of sight, giving the Galta Gang an opportunity to enter the house through the kitchen window and search for food and it was not long before the whole troop ransacked the kitchen, searching for food items and turning the place upside-down! While most of the gang have their minds on food, Binita, Rani's oldest daughter, decides to do her own survey through the objects, such as utensils and cables, including breaking open a medicine bottle. Eventually the home owners hear the commotion and the troop flee from sight, with some of the gang tagging along their items. With everyone sated, Tarak leads the troop back to the temple for the evening, but as most of the troop relax, one member did not make it back home. During the flee from the apartment, Kavi made a potentially lethal mistake of taking to the electrical wires networking around the streets and unfortunately he suffered a massive electrical shock. He is still alive but utterly injured and not just physically. Kavi lies on the ground where he had fallen from the high voltage electrical wire and left alone he is completely vulnerable.

Episode 2: Fang's Market

As the drought continues, the Galta Gang have to make forays into the city in search of feeding opportunities as supplies at their temple are running out. Alpha male Tarak leads his 60-strong troop to the city's main food productions, but stealing may lead to casualties with the people referring to the city's monkey catcher as they grow less tolerant of thieving macaques stealing what little food is left. The troop need to keep a low profile as to not attract attention to themselves, the wrong kind of attention. A distance away, an injured young rhesus macaque lies on the ground helpless. Kavi has been in deep trouble after suffering a big electrical shock, but fortunately luck is on his side. A kind human picks up the little monkey and takes him to the animal charity 'Help In Suffering', where he is given immediate medical treatment. The vets rehydrate Kavi with fluid and treat his infected wounds, giving the little animal the best chance to pull through. Meanwhile, the rest of the Galta Gang continue their search for food and end up at the city's fruit market. Here, a fresh supply of fruits are easy pickings for the ravenous troop and the Galta Gang begin to stock up on the rich pickings, but of coarse such a productive territory like this is already claimed by another rhesus macaque troop. The owner of this prime patch is Fang, a large male macaque whose prominent scar gives him a distinguishing feature. Fang and his formidable troop are fiercely protective of their territory and with very good reason, their territory is the most valued real-estate within Jaipur's pink city walls with such a supply of food. Fang's troop eventually catch site of the Galta Gang and a brief but decisive battle takes place, sending the Galta Gang to flee. At animal charity 'Help In Suffering', Kavi gets nurtured and looked after by the animal carer Saresh Valmiki and starts to make small attributes of pulling through to recovery. The Galta Gang have survived the clash with Fang and returned to the Temple, but if the drought continues they risk going into the city again and facing Fang and his formidable gang at their food-supplying market.

Episode 3: The Monkey Catcher

At Galta Temple, Tarak, the alpha male of the 60-strong troop of rhesus macaques known as the Galta Gang, is finding that life at the top can be tough. He has become a father again but his queen Rani, baby Esha and the rest of the troop are hungry. The drought is taking its toll with less worshippers handing out food to the monkeys at the temple. With his troop becoming more restless, Tarak has a crisis on his hands, and it's not just the rumbling tummies of his troop members, there is a rebel in his ranks. Zamir, nine-year-old subordinate male, is one of the highest ranking males in the troop and has his eye on the top job. Another threat closer to home are the troop's envious neighbours, the langur monkeys. These agile monkeys thrive on the forest leaves which macaques find inedible, therefore they are after the temple's fresh supply of water at the spring pool. Meanwhile, Tarak leads the troop into the city in search of feeding opportunities and while most of the troop have their eyes on the busy streets, the teenage duo Bipin, Yash and Tito have their eyes on the birds, and at this time of year where there are birds there are eggs. The trio follow a pair of birds, closely followed by Zamir who simply lets the youngsters do all the hard work and take all the risks only to come and take whatever they manage to achieve for himself. Eventually the teens don't manage to get anything out of harassing the birds and move on. Zamir spots a cart seller pushing his cart full of food items and while the cart seller gets out of sight, Zamir moves in to help himself to the food, closely followed by the teens and then eventually Tarak and the rest of the Galta Gang hear the alarm call notifying that food has been found. The troop waste no time feeding on the food items on the cart before the cart seller spots his stock being eaten by a bunch of thieving monkeys. Most of the troop manage to flee from sight but Zamir gets cornered and finally lashes out and scratches the cart seller. The injured cart seller calls the city's monkey catcher who is soon hot on the gang's trail. The Monkey Catcher sets up a trap near the temple and fills it with food items to tempt law-breaking monkeys to take the bait. At animal charity 'Help In Suffering' one member of the Galta Gang has only recently found his feet. Kavi has been under the care of animal carer Saresh Valmiki since being found lying in the city after suffering an electric shock. He is given fresh food and accommodation daily, unlike the Galta Gang who have to deal with food shortages. Kavi makes substantial progress but still has a long recovery to go. Meanwhile, back at the temple, the Galta Gang have more pressing concerns, the langurs take the chance and invade the temple, but alpha male Tarak leads the Galta Gang into the defence of their precious temple and send the langurs to flee, though in the chase the troop once again find themselves in the city streets. On their way back, the troop come across the Monkey Catcher's trap and while most of the more experienced individuals keep at a safe distance despite the food inside the trap, curiosity gets the better of the teens and Yash, Tito and several of the gang get captured. Bipin managed to escape the capture, but his two best pals weren't so lucky. The captives get shifted into small cages and are driven away for relocation. The Monkey Catcher's real target, Zamir, manages to escape and it is because of his act of scratching the cart seller that an innocent band of troop members were captured and taken to a forest, miles away from the city of Jaipur.

Episode 4: Taxi Raid

The exile macaques are released in a faraway forest, where they have to look for ways of survival and the road back to home. At the temple, Dhanna Lal, the monkey catcher refuses to do his job since it's Tuesday, the day of lord Hanuman. Showing his respect, he surprisingly offers food to the troop, which most of the members, especially Bipin, refuse to accept. Many teen members are thirsty and set out the search of water, an extremely precious commodity in the desert state. They finally quench their thirst from a public tap, the only way to heal their pain of hunger to an extent. Tarak, with the responsibility to feed the whole hungry gang, makes them to follow him towards the city. A mile away from home, the gang finds out few unguarded taxis, and leave no opportunity to raid them. But investigation results in nothing edible available. Sorrowful Tarak gives up the quest, yet Zamir has plans for him and isn't ready to follow the leader. Along with a group of his followers, Zamir gets to a high vantage point where he spots a white taxi been left alone along with a window open by its owner named Bhawani Singh. His mistake results in the gang eating away and stealing every eatable in the taxi. Turning the taxi upside-down, no baby macaque is hungry after this action. It is a humiliating low to Tarak's strength as the leader. The gang returns to the temple, and it's sleeping time. After having a restless night, Bipin, separated from his pair of close friends, wakes up the earliest and begins to stare at the horizon to find out any signs of the safe return of his friends. At 'Help in Suffering', the scenario is very critical as the little Kavi, being heavily wounded by electrical burns, gets one of his wounds infected by parasites. The veterinary team tries its best to cure the little macaque.

Episode 5: Skid Row

The exile members still cannot make out that they have been left. Though they spot a house amidst the jungle, there are no signs of any human activity and more importantly, food. It is nothing more than an abandoned house. Meanwhile, at the temple, Zamir, while framing more plans to conquer the crown, sees a devotee putting away a coconut in the pond. He leaves no chance to grab the opportunity and wants to eat it alone, breaking the rule where the primary feeding rights lie with the alpha male. As Tarak senses what is going on, he comes to get his part. On his arrival, Zamir loses his nerve and is left with no other option rather than to flee away. Later on, while Rani and Tarak are spending time together, Binita attempts to kidnap her younger sister, Esha. Thanks to Bipin coming to her rescue, Rani is alerted and leaves no chance for Binita. The troop is hungry with no breakfast. Tarak is left with no source of food within the temple premise and once again, has to lead the gang towards the city. He would not repeat the mistake of going to the city's fruit market, guarded by his arch rival, Fang. Finding no good place to steal food, the macaques have to find insects in the sand or to steal the birds' food. With no food source, Rani cannot produce breast milk and at worst, may have to abandon Esha. Having lost any hope to see fresh available food, the gang suddenly hears a much familiar sound. It is the sound that Vijay Sharma, a strong devotee of lord Hanuman makes. He occasionally brings lots of food for the troop. Every member eats till heart's content, and young Anoop gets the taste of ice-cream for the first time. The only one to be not so happy is Zamir, whose all hopes are shattered as he now cannot challenge Tarak with a satisfied troop. Back at the jungle, the exiles finally find a busy road but are eventually stuck at an intersection, where only one way leads home.

Episode 6: Monsoon Showdown

The monsoons finally break in the city of Jaipur accompanied by a storm, which makes things go worst for Zamir, who has got his eyes on the highest rank. The local people celebrate the festival of Teej, a festival celebrated to welcome the monsoon. Zamir cannot wait anymore. He creates a chaos at the temple, attacking many gang members, including Rani, and almost gets the upper hand over Tarak, until he is attacked by the ferocious and united females of the gang. Facing defeat, he is thrown out of the gang. The chaos results in many gang members left heavily wounded, and the death of a baby macaque. Meanwhile, the exile monkeys are already going along the road, and with their brilliant sense of directions and after a ten-mile long trek, they are finally back in the city. Going through the street mazes, they reach the temple and are welcomed with a bath. Bipin is finally reunited with Yash and Tito, and is back to doing mischief and turning the temple upside-down. After all the action, there is a gentle peace at the Galta temple.

Episode 7: One Bad Apple

While hunting down the macaques that were terrorizing the city, the government made the monkeys held fully responsible for the deaths of some citizens.

Episode 8: Return of the Rebel

Zamir searches for a new troop to lead against his former comrades at the temple, while Kavi waits to see if his family will accept his return.

Episode 9: The Great Escape

While Tarak has had six months of peaceful leadership, a couple of his old rivals, Dhanna Lal and Zamir are back in action. Zamir is now a member of a city-based troop led by their leader named Vasu. With his food-finding abilities, Zamir leads a few members to a government office where Sher Singh is in charge. As soon as Sher Singh leaves the office unguarded, Zamir sends in minor members in search of food and later enters himself. Although they find no food, many confidential public tax-related government documents are thrown out open in the streets. This incident attracts Dhanna Lal to the site, setting up cages near the office. Dhanna Lal is back and now has his own supporting team consisting of his family members. The team does a long wait but sees no monkey to be trapped. Meanwhile, at 'Help In Suffering', Suresh Valmiki makes another attempt to reunite Kavi with the rest of the gang, having already fail in an earlier try. Kavi is left out in a cage where Bipin and many others try to investigate the familiar face. After spending some time, Kavi finally loses its fear and is set free by Suresh. By the time Suresh bids its farewell, it quickly runs away somewhere unseen between the streets. Some of the gang members try to chase him but it is too fast to be caught. It remains unknown why Kavi had to run away. In the other part of the city, Dhanna Lal is desperate to catch the infamous Zamir, one of his oldest targets. Dhanna's search for him leads to the city's grain market, where Vasu, Zamir and rest of the troop are set with a big plan in their minds. On spotting the macaques, the monkey catching team is set in action and cages are set up high on the roofs of the market. One of the members of the team hides near a cage in an oil container. Zamir precisely knows the plans of the team and cleverly decides to stay away from the traps. Yet Vasu and his troop aren't clever as Zamir is. Vasu and some of the powerful males of his troop are caught in a trap, leaving Zamir's troop without an alpha male. Vasu, just like it happened with some of the Galta Gang members, is taken far away from the city of Jaipur and left in exile in a forest.

Episode 10: Trading Places

Vasu and the other trapped macaques are released in a forest far away from Jaipur, where they meet many other macaques that have been similarly caught and released from Delhi. While in the city, Vasu's 50-member troop is left with newly recruited Zamir as the only powerful male being capable enough to be the leader. A new day starts and Zamir already has plans for the highest job. But for that, he must prove it. He has to find a source of food for his troop. He leads the troop towards the city's fruit market, being unaware it's the area of the formidable Fang. Yet early in the morning, either Fang nor any of the fruit-sellers are seen in the market as the market hasn't opened yet. At the Galta temple, members of the Galta Gang have now stopped any further investigation about Kavi, and are instead roaming in the city, facing the monkey catcher Dhanna Lal and his team. Meanwhile, in the forest, Vasu and his fellows find a road and start going along its ends, in the hopes of returning to the city and reuniting with the separated troop. In the city, Zamir finds no food available to loot as he leads the troop to a gem store where they once again find nothing edible and only beautiful gems. At the same time the Galta Gang takes shelter in a busy Hanuman temple amidst the city, where the gang is free from all the dangers of the monkey catching team as in a Hanuman temple, monkeys are respected and devotees would oppose their catching. The devotees present at the temple also offer fruits to the gang, although Binita is interested in stealing away sandals of devotees. Meanwhile, at the gem store, Zamir flees away with his troop after creating all the chaos, leaving Fang and his troop at the scene. Zamir now tries his luck in a hotel, and succeeds as he finds the food store of the hotel, where plenty of food items are stored. Zamir's troop members eat away everything present, and happily accept Zamir as their new leader. Zamir acts like humans by celebrating the victory with alcohol drinks. At 'Help In Suffering', the team on duty gets a call regarding an injured macaque, putting Suresh Valmiki in fear as he assumes it might be Kavi. The team rushes towards the site, finds a macaque and quickly returns to the base. At the base it's revealed that the macaque they bought was an injured female along with a newborn baby. The female was left alone and separated by her troop. Suresh is happy to see it's not Kavi. But Kavi is finally seen in the city, where he meets none other than Zamir. Being away from the Galta Gang for months, Kavi is unaware of the fact that Zamir is no more a part of the gang and has a troop of his own. Zamir seems happy to see Kavi, and happily recruits the young macaque in his newly acquired gang.

Episode 11: Rising Forces

Animal caretaker Suresh tries to nurse a mother monkey and her baby back to health. Zamir plots an attack on Tarak and the temple troop.

Episode 12: Heroes & Villains

Esha gets lost in the city. Zamir and his troop launch their attack on the temple, but Tarak and the loyal Kamal mount a strong defense.

Episode 13: A New Dawn

The gang gains several new faces. But in the wake of the great battle, Tarak is seriously injured, and the troop wonders who will replace him.

Season 2

Episode 1: Divided We Stand

As the troop expands and the economy plunges, scarce offerings at the temple leave the macaques competing with each other for sustenance.

Episode 2: Hard Times

The Galta Gang splits into two troops, with Bipin, Yash and Tito leading the splinter group into the city—and into the traps of the monkey catcher.

Episode 3: Searching For Sanctuary

Rani and the temple troop rely on handouts, while Bipin and the exiles search for a new base. As prospects dim, the suddenly find a ray of hope.

Episode 4: Urban Exile

While Jaipur overrun by langurs, the splinter group must try every trick in the book to locate food. In a faraway forest, Zamir reappears.

Episode 5: Street Life

The remaining Galta troopers leave the temple when offerings dry up, but a close encounter with the monkey catcher sends them scurrying back home.

Episode 6: Home Hunters

While the Galta Gang are off looking for food in town, the watching troop of langur monkeys take their chance and take over the Temple. When the gang return, they fight to reclaim their home, but they are out-numbered and when gang leader Kamal runs away the troop have little choice but to leave.

Episode 7: Beggars Banquet

Homeless and on the streets, the Galta Gang hear Temple bells. Recognising this as the sound of food, they follow the sound and find a small metro Temple and park. The gang are in their element and think they have found a new home, until another troop of monkeys turns up, as this is clearly their territory. Kamal turns and runs, and the gang follow, once again homeless and facing hunger.

Episode 8: Cops and Robbers

Locals call the police over the antics of the Galta Gang, which brings to the area a policeman who specialises in advising residents how to protect their property from monkey thieves. When he leaves his radio unguarded behind him on a ledge, Binita spots it, sneaks up and steals it. The policeman gives chase and calls in the monkey-catching team, headed by Dhanna Lal. Before the catchers arrive, the gang steal a turban and some pretty cloth, and play dress-ups until Kamal spots the catchers and raises the alarm. The gang run in every direction, and once they have escaped, Rani realises that Teejay is not with them, but it is not safe to return to the ground to search for him. She can only wait and worry: with 4,000 macaques on the prowl in the city, young macaques need their mothers to keep them safe, especially one as playful and adventurous as Teejay, but night falls with no sign of him. Zamir returns to Jaipur after eight months in the bush, after having been removed by Dhanna Lal. After initial confusion about his location, he finds his bearings and returns to his old home, the temple, but with his old gang gone, he doesn't recognise the faces there.

Episode 9: Missing In Action

The Galta Gang elite are still homeless and Teejay is still missing, but Kamal finds them a potential new home with an abundance of food and no obvious threats. The grain depot has bags of food that the gang can eat, and the staff don't seem to be bothered by them at all. While Kamal is pleased with himself, Rani is still concerned: she knows that if something seems too good to be true it probably is. Suddenly a monster-sized langur comes to scare them away. This odd looking predator is a 42-year-old mime artist whose job it is to scare away monkey gangs, and he is very effective. Kamal is the first to bolt, leaving his unprotected gang to escape for themselves, which they do. Now on the streets again, Rani needs Kamal's protection more than ever before, but he is nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile, without anyone to rein in his behaviour, Teejay is playing acrobatics on the city's maze of power lines. Eventually, remembering he is all alone, he sees his old home in the distance, the Temple. He hurries there, but instead of finding familiar faces, he finds a new gang there, the large pack of langurs. Surrounded, Teejay initially panics, but the young langurs want to play and groom, and the senior langurs don't mind at all. When Zamir turns up, there is a commotion as the langur pack prepare to defend their home, but Zamir recognises that he is outnumbered and leaves. Seeing Zamir reminds Teejay that he must find his family, so he too takes off. Unfortunately his reckless climbing on wires finally takes its toll as he is electrocuted and falls into a dried out water trough, which cushions his fall but hides him from pilgrims who could help him.

Episode 10: Drug Raid

Kamal leads the gang to a market, but they come face to face with their former underlings, the splinter group that they chased off from the temple. The splinter group, led by Devdin and including Bipin, Yash and Tito, are well fed and strong. Rani knows that the tables have turned, and while the youngsters of each group initially play, Rani calls them off as this is no time to play. Kamal then flees, and the Galta Gang know that their chance of taking over this market has gone with him, so they flee also. Needing to redeem himself, Kamal finds an empty room at the local hospital, and though the gang can't open the child-proofed medicines, they still feast on several available medical products, including sweet cough syrup. Chased off by hospital staff, the gang are none-the-less happy with themselves, especially Kamal who is finally starting to feel like a leader. However, the hospital staff have called Dhanna Lal the monkey catcher and he and his team manage to cage Kamal, leaving Rani and her gang alone and vulnerable. Zamir had spotted his former gang and had hoped to try his luck for a third time to takeover the gang, but before he could approach them, he sees the monkey catcher and leaves before he too is a target for capture. Lost baby Teejay, suffering terrible injuries from a big shock from a power cable, is found by locals, one of whom takes the small monkey to the animal charity Help in Suffering. He is in critical condition and may have suffered internal organ failure, so he is medicated and left in a recuperation cage overnight, with worker Suresh looking after him.

Episode 11: Colour and Calamity

As festival crowds pack the streets, Rani has no idea that her old enemy Zamir has returned. Teejay fights for his life at the clinic.<Netflix>

Episode 12: An Unlikely Hero

Rani finally comes face to face with her arch enemy, Zamir. Bipin and the splinter group live the good life at the market until rivals suddenly appear.<Netflix>

Episode 13: Deliverance

Fortunes change as Zamir takes firm charge of the troop and leads them back to the Galta Temple, where a battle awaits with the surprised langurs.<Netflix>

Season 3

Episode 1: "Coming of Age"

Ten months after birthing a baby boy, Rani seems lethargic. At the fruit market, Bipin, Yash and Tito have reached maturity but make a big mistake.<Netflix>

Episode 2: "Zamir's Legacy"

Ejected from their troop, Bipin, Yash and Tito search for water. They are soon blamed for the violent raids of Zamir's wayward twins, Gangol and Ragin.<Netflix>

Episode 3: "Royal Retreat"

When Queen Rani disappears, Zamir's leadership is challenged by other temple males. Gangol and Ragin attack a bakery with their rogue troop.<Netflix>

Episode 4: "Paradise Lost"

Leaderless, the temple gang descends into chaos. Gangol and Ragin gorge on a delivery truck's split peas. Bipin, Yash and Tito try country living.<Netflix>

Episode 5: "Sweet Revenge"

Now on the right track, monkey catcher Dhana Lal goes undercover to catch the unruly twins. Bipin, Yash and Tito may have finally found a new troop.<Netflix>

Episode 6: "Three's a Crowd"

At the temple, Esha pulls rank to save a baby. Gangol and Ragin attack a sweet paan vendor. Bipin and Tito suffer a betrayal at the fruit market.<Netflix>

Episode 7: "Allied Forces"

Bipin and Tito briefly join a bachelor troop. Langurs take over the leaderless temple complex. Dhana Lal tries to stop Gangol and Ragin.<Netflix>

Episode 8: "Last Man Standing"

As the Gangaur Marriage Festival unfolds, Bipin and Tito ingratiate themselves with the Palace females, while Dhana Lal finally has a small victory.<Netflix>

Episode 9: "Low Life"

It's war when Gangol and Ragin's gang raids Dhana Lal's kite store. Esha discovers that the ranks support her and assumes leadership of her troop.<Netflix>

Episode 10: "Bad Boys"

When Gangol and Ragin fall into a trap set by Dhana Lal, it's new would-be member, Bipin, manages to free them and their troop.<Netflix>

Episode 11: "Gate Crashers"

The twins' troop with newest member Bipin boldly raids a children's birthday party, leading monkey catcher Dhana Lal to attempt a new strategy.<Netflix>

Episode 12: "Like Father, Like Sons"

The twins' troop is driven out of the city by Dhana Lal's corralling strategy, but as they near the Galta Temple, Bipin recognizes his former home.<Netflix>..

Episode 13: "Arrested Development"

Temple leader Queen Esha finally gets an alpha male, Garud, to rule beside her. They'll need each other when the twins' troop arrives at the temple.<Netflix>...

External links

• Website on National Geographic UK
• Website on National Geographic Asia