Stray Monkeys Greet Obama in New Delhi

NEW DELHI, India— -- A drive through the streets of New Delhi's diplomatic enclave where President Obama is staying here feels a bit like a visit to the zoo.

The monkeys are everywhere -- herds of them -- loitering in the streets, lunching on sidewalks, scaling fences, even hanging from the trees.

Spooked like a flock of birds, one large posse thundered across a tin roof and down into the street, dispersing amongst the passing cars.

City officials have gone to great lengths to shoo them out of Obama's way, hiring men with slingshots to hurry them along. The containment efforts don't appear to have worked as hoped.

Locals say the monkeys are considered friends, even if they crowd their space. In Hindu culture, they represent the god Hanuman. As the country's forests have shrunk, the monkeys looked elsewhere for homes.

One man working to keep them at bay told ABC News he just didn't want one to end up in Obama's bed.