(Tokyo) Residents of a city in southwestern Japan have to contend with attacks by monkeys trying to pick up babies, bite, scratch and sneak into kindergartens.
Posted at 8:29
The attacks ― on 58 people since July 8 ― have become so severe that Yamaguchi City Hall has hired a special unit to hunt the animals with tranquilizer guns.
The monkeys aren’t interested in food, so the traps didn’t work. They mainly target children and the elderly.
“They’re very smart, and they tend to sneak up and attack from behind, often grabbing your legs,” city official Masato Saito said Wednesday.
During a confrontation with a monkey, the instructions are as follows: do not look him in the eye, try to look as big as possible, for example by removing your coat, then step back as quietly as possible without making sudden movements, Saito said.
A woman was attacked by a monkey while she was hanging clothes on her veranda. Another victim showed his bandaged toes. The two victims were surprised and frightened by the size and size of the monkeys.
The monkeys terrorizing the community are Japanese macaques, the kind often seen in photos peacefully bathing in hot springs.
A male monkey, 49 centimeters tall and weighing seven kilograms, was caught with the tranquilizer gun on Tuesday. It was determined by various evidence that he was among the apes that attacked and he was put to death.
But other attacks were reported after his capture.
No one has been seriously injured so far. But all were told to seek treatment at the hospital. Ambulances were called in some cases.
Although Japan is industrialized and urban, much of the archipelago’s land is made up of mountains and forests. Rare attacks on people by bears, boars, or other wildlife have occurred, but usually not by monkeys.
No one seems to know why the attacks took place, and it is unclear where exactly the troop of monkeys came from.
“I have never seen anything like this in my entire life,” Mr. Saito said.