Wild Macaques Attack Yamaguchi City And Injure 42 Including Children

Yamaguchi city authorities said Monday that they would use tranquilizer guns against marauding monkeys who have inflicted 42 victims in the last week.

The Japanese macaques can be seen in large areas of the country. They are known to invade homes and eat crops. However, a series of monkey attacks on the city in western Japan was not expected. Children and adults were left with scratches and bites.

Mountains surround Yamaguchi, so it’s not uncommon to see monkeys,” a Yamaguchi official with the agricultural department told AFP. She declined to identify herself. “But it is rare to witness this many attacks in such a short time.”

Although the injuries are not severe, authorities now plan to use tranquilizer guns to control the primates after the plan to trap them failed horribly.

“Initially, only children and women were targeted. The official stated that older men and women have also been targeted recently.

The city doesn’t know if the attacks resulted from multiple monkeys or one individual acting aggressively. Sometimes, the intruders entered through windows or sliding open screen doors.

Police and city officials have been monitoring the area since July 8th but have not caught any monkeys.

Japan’s media have been highlighting the story for weeks, and residents have reported regular invasions.

One father said that he heard crying from the ground floor and rushed down to help his child. “Then, I saw a monkey sitting beside my child.”

Source: JapanToday

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