The entire nation of Sri Lanka lost power for hours on Sunday, and authorities were quick to cast blame. "A monkey came into contact with our grid transformer, causing an imbalance in the power system," said energy minister Kumara Jayakody, per the BBC. The Ceylon Electricity Board apologized, but the general reaction on social media wasn't one of forgiveness. "One monkey = total chaos. Time to rethink infrastructure?" one user wrote. The Guardian adds context, noting that rolling blackouts aren't uncommon in a nation whose power grid is said to be in dire need of an upgrade.
It would "be laughable if it were not symptomatic of a greater rot," reads an editorial in the Sri Lanka Guardian. The newspaper adds that it appears the offending monkey was part of a group of fighting primates, but it still puts the primary blame on humans. "Let us not forget that when a coconut shortage besieged the market, the government bizarrely attributed the crisis to monkeys," it reads. "One must wonder: Are the monkeys truly the problem, or do they merely serve as a convenient scapegoat for an administration whose governance is as flimsy as the promises they so eloquently make?" (More Sri Lanka stories.)