Monkeys Terrorizing Japanese City, Trying To Snatch Babies, Attack People

Attacking monkeys are attempting to grab babies, biting and ripping at flesh, and creeping into preschools in a city in southwest Japan.

Since July 8, there have been 58 attacks on people, and Yamaguchi City Hall has now hired a special force to hunt the animals using tranquilizer guns.

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Traps haven't been effective since the monkeys aren't motivated by food. The elderly and children have been their main targets.

“They are so smart, and they tend to sneak up and attack from behind, often grabbing at your legs,” city official Masato Saito said Wednesday.

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According to Saito, the advice is to avoid looking the monkey in the eye, appear as large as you can by, for example, spreading open your coat, and then retreat as softly as you can without making any sudden movements.

When a woman was hanging laundry on her terrace, a monkey attacked her. An additional victim had bandaged toes. They were shocked and startled by how large and fat the monkeys were.

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The Japanese macaques who are terrorizing the community are the same species that are frequently seen relaxing in hot springs.

The crew used the tranquilizer pistol to capture a male monkey on Tuesday that was 49 centimeters (1.6 feet) tall and weighed 7 kilos (15 pounds). It was killed after being determined by a range of evidence to be one of the attacking monkeys.

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But following the capture, more attacks were reportedly made.

So yet, no one has suffered a significant injury. But everyone has been told to seek hospital care. In several instances, ambulances were called.

Despite being industrialized and urbanized, a sizable percentage of the archipelago's terrain is covered with mountains and woods. Rare bear, boar, or other wildlife attacks on humans have happened, but often not by monkeys.

No one seems to know why the attacks have happened or where the troop is located.

“I have never seen anything like this in my entire life,” Saito said.