- Japanese police are using tranquillizer guns to try to stop monkey attacks in Yamaguchi city.
- 42 people have been injured, including children and the elderly, in recent weeks.
- Authorities unsure whether attacks were carried out by a single rogue monkey or a group of them.
Japanese police are using tranquillizer guns to try to stop the rash of wild monkey attacks that have terrified residents.
42 people have been reported injured in Yamaguchi city in recent weeks, including children and the elderly.
Japanese macaques are being blamed for the attacks.
While they are common in many parts of the country, incidents like these are unusual.
“It’s unusual to see this many attacks in such a short period of time,” said one city official, who did not want to be identified. “At first, only children and women were targeted. Elderly people and adult men have recently been targeted as well.”
Attempts to catch the animals with traps failed, and police patrols put in place since the first attack in early July have failed to deter the perpetrators.
Authorities are also unsure whether the attacks were carried out by a single rogue monkey or a group of them.
Injuries have ranged from scratches to bitten legs and hands, as well as bitten necks and stomachs, according to local media.
A four-year-old girl was scratched during an apartment break-in, and a monkey broke into a kindergarten classroom in another case.
Some residents have reported multiple incursions in their homes, with the primates entering through sliding screen doors or open windows.
“I heard crying from the ground floor and rushed down,” one father told Japanese media. “Then I noticed a monkey hunched over my child.”
Japanese macaques were once considered a vulnerable species, but their numbers have recently increased. They are now classified as a “Least Concern” species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
According to Yamagata University research, their recovery has “caused serious conflicts between people and the macaques.”
The study blames a decrease in the distance between humans and macaques. Possible explanations include shifting cultural attitudes toward macaques, changes in human behaviour, and changes in forest environments.
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