For centuries, the baboons have thrived in both the countryside and the city, like a college student during exam week. In remote areas, they would build elaborate nests in trees and bushes, creating huge apartment complexes that would put any housing society to shame. In the city, they were the ultimate urban adapters, finding luxurious penthouses in parks and lining the streets with their designer nests. It was like living in a concrete jungle with a touch of avian haute couture.
Here in Bangladesh, however, Babui had a fondness for palm trees – the tallest buildings in the bird world. He also liked coconuts, date palms and sometimes betelnut trees, if forced. The problem is that our cities are glass and steel monsters, with all the charm of a tax audit, offering absolutely no opportunity for nest building. Not a good recipe at all for Babui's love life.