A viral video from Mandi's Rewalsar shows a monkey holding a stray puppy 20 feet above the ground, sparking debate over changing animal behavior.

 A viral video showing a monkey carrying a stray puppy up a tree in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district has triggered widespread discussion online and among local residents. The incident, which took place in the Rewalsar area, filmed a primate holding the young canine nearly 20 feet above the ground on a tree branch, keeping locals on the edge for several minutes.

Tense moments in Rewalsar

The incident occurred over the weekend when onlookers noticed a rhesus macaque lifting a small stray puppy. Within moments, the monkey scaled a nearby tree, balancing the puppy in its arms.

Witnesses gathered beneath the tree, anxious that the primate might drop the young animal. However, onlookers noted that the puppy remained surprisingly calm throughout the ten-minute ordeal, showing no visible signs of panic or struggle while perched high above the ground.

Locals flag safety worries

While the unusual encounter ended peacefully, it has left the local community divided. Some residents view it as a rare display of interspecies affection, while others see it as a warning sign of unpredictable wildlife behavior in human-dominated spaces.

"When the monkey climbed the tree carrying the puppy, everyone present became concerned about its safety," said Ajay Surya, a resident of Rewalsar who witnessed the event. "The monkey was sitting nearly 20 feet above the ground. If it had dropped the puppy, the fall could have been fatal. Fortunately, it brought it down safely and released it."

Surya added that while this specific incident concluded without injury, it has renewed anxieties among parents regarding the safety of young children playing outdoors, given the high population of monkeys in the town.

Experts point to maternal instinct

Wildlife enthusiasts suggest the behavior might stem from deep-rooted biological drives rather than aggression. The gentle handling of the canine has led observers to believe the primate may have been a female driven by maternal instincts.

Narendra Saini, a wildlife enthusiast and president of the Devbhoomi Environment Protection Forum, noted that such cross-species interactions, though rare, are documented. "There have been several instances in the past where animals have shown affection toward the young of other species. After watching the viral video, it appeared to me that the monkey may have been female. Female monkeys display stronger nurturing instincts," Saini explained.

Changing patterns in wildlife

The incident has also caught the attention of forest officials, who view it through the lens of shifting environmental conditions and increasing human-wildlife interface.

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) and wildlife expert S.S. Kashyap stated that altering climate patterns and habituation to human environments are modifying traditional animal behavior. "Monkeys are highly intelligent animals and are quick to imitate behaviors, much like humans. Even species that are generally considered rivals can sometimes display friendly or affectionate behavior toward one another," Kashyap said.

The puppy, confirmed to be a local stray, was left completely uninjured after the monkey carefully descended the trunk and placed it back on the ground before retreating into the canopy.

A relentless wave of forest fires has swept through large parts of the western Himalayas, turning vast stretches of woodland into charred wasteland and pushing authorities into emergency mode across three states.

Kasauli Blaze Forces IAF Deployment

The situation in Himachal Pradesh reached a critical point when a major forest fire near Kasauli — a cantonment town in Solan district — burned through the night and into its second day, having first broken out on May 26. With flames threatening military installations and residential neighbourhoods, the Indian Air Force was brought in to assist overstretched ground teams.

Four Mi-17 V5 helicopters were pressed into service, conducting multiple sorties over the affected zone. By late Friday, approximately 62,500 litres of water had been dropped on the fire. Officials confirmed that around 10 hectares of forest cover had been lost to the blaze. Dense smoke drifting across the hill town reduced visibility and added to the difficulty of both aerial and ground-level firefighting.

Uttarakhand Counts Its Dead

Uttarakhand has had it worse in terms of scale. This fire season, the hill state has now logged more than 388 separate forest fire incidents — a number that tells only part of the story. Three people have lost their lives in fire-related incidents across the state, and over 340 hectares of forest land have been reduced to ash.

In Uttarkashi district, fires spreading through the Badethi area crept dangerously close to the Gangotri highway — a key pilgrim and transport route. Thick smoke forced authorities to evacuate around 70 passengers stranded inside a guest house near the highway. Chamoli district's Adibadri area saw fires jump into agricultural fields and edge toward villages. A school in Kalsi was also caught in the fire's path.

Police in Pauri district have arrested two individuals on suspicion of deliberately setting forest areas alight — a grim reminder that human negligence and arson continue to feed many of these blazes.

Fourth Day of Fire in J&K

In Jammu and Kashmir, fires in the Udhampur and Ramban districts entered their fourth consecutive day Friday, with no immediate sign of letting up. Several compartments of the Ramnagar Forest Division have been affected. Nearby villages reported scenes of panic as residents watched the treeline burn closer.

Authorities pointed to strong, erratic winds as the chief factor driving the rapid spread — the same condition making containment so difficult across the region.

Terrain Complicates Relief

Across all three affected areas, firefighting teams are running into the same stubborn obstacle: the terrain. Steep slopes, narrow forest tracks and the near-absence of accessible roads in many affected zones have slowed both water deployment and the movement of personnel. In several locations, local villagers have joined forest department staff in forming human chains and cutting firebreaks — often the only practical option when machinery cannot reach.

Officials warned that conditions remain volatile. High temperatures, weeks of below-normal rainfall and dry westerly winds have left forest floors across the Himalayan belt like tinder. Meteorological data from this season suggests the fire risk window has extended further into the year than usual.

What Comes Next

With the IAF now operationally involved in Himachal and ground teams stretched thin in Uttarakhand and J&K, officials say the immediate priority is containing existing blazes before rising daytime temperatures allow them to spread further. Authorities are also monitoring several other vulnerable forest zones across the region that have not yet caught fire but remain at high risk.

For communities living at the forest edge — farmers, seasonal workers, pilgrims — the coming days will be anxious ones.

President Droupadi Murmu concludes Himachal visit, departs for Delhi from Shimla

President Droupadi Murmu wrapped up her five-day Himachal Pradesh visit on Friday, departing for the national capital after attending a final engagement at ARTRAC.

President Droupadi Murmu on Friday concluded her five-day official retreat to Himachal Pradesh and flew back to Delhi from the Annadale helipad. Before her departure, the President visited the Army Training Command (ARTRAC) in Shimla to attend a scheduled military program, marking the final leg of her stay in the hill state.

Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, and Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh were among the high-profile dignitaries present at Annadale to see off the President. Despite overcast skies early in the morning, the weather cleared up by midday, allowing the presidential flight to take off around 12:00 PM.

ARTRAC visit precedes departure

On Friday morning, President Murmu traveled from the Presidential Retreat in Chharabra to the ARTRAC headquarters. During her visit, she interacted with senior military officers and was briefed on various training modules. The Governor and top Army officials accompanied her during the ceremony, which emphasized the strategic importance of the Shimla-based command in the Indian Army’s training ecosystem.

Weather disrupts planned tours

While the visit was scheduled to include several high-altitude stops, inclement weather played spoilsport over the last few days. The President’s proposed trips to the Atal Tunnel in Rohtang, Sissu in Lahaul, and the Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University in Palampur had to be called off. Officials confirmed that persistent clouds and poor visibility in the higher reaches made the aerial journey to these locations unfeasible.

Commuters face traffic snarls

The President's movement from Chharabra to Shimla city caused significant disruptions for local residents and tourists. Traffic was halted for nearly 45 minutes starting at 9:00 AM to ensure a clear passage for the VVIP convoy. Large queues of vehicles were seen at Sanjauli, Dhalli, and Navbahar.

Commuters traveling from Upper Shimla were held up at Chharabra, while those coming from Sunni and Karsog were stopped at the Mashobra bifurcation. Although the police worked to restore flow immediately after the convoy passed, the morning rush hour saw hundreds of office-goers and school buses stranded in long jams.

The tradition of 'The Retreat'

The President had been staying at 'The Retreat' in Chharabra, located about 13 kilometers from Shimla, since Monday. It is a long-standing tradition for the President of India to visit this colonial-era wooden building during the summer months to conduct official business from the hills. This year’s visit focused on academic and military engagements, though the local sight-seeing remained limited due to the Western Disturbance affecting the region.

Security and administrative arrangements

The Himachal Pradesh administration had deployed over 1,500 personnel to manage security and logistics during the five-day stay. With the President now back in Delhi, the heavy barricading at Sanjauli and Chharabra has been removed, and normal traffic movement has resumed across the capital's arterial roads.