In Japan, a member of a monkey gang that terrorized people was caught and killed

Author:
Anhelina Sheremet
Date:

In Japan, a member of a monkey gang was caught and killed, which had been terrorizing residents of the city of Yamaguchi for several weeks.

This is reported by the BBC.

The caught monkey was four years old, the height of the animal is about half a meter. The male was found on the territory of the high school in the evening of July 26 by specially commissioned hunters. The animal was calmed down with tranquilizers, and then put to sleep.

Authorities have been hunting the monkeys since attacks on adults and children began about three weeks ago, in a total of nearly 50 incidents. Animals even entered the kindergarten class. Most of the injuries were minor scratches and bites.

A city official said itʼs rare to see so many attacks in such a short time. Initially, the animals attacked only children and women, but recently, elderly people and adult men have also become targets.

Japanese macaques are common in most of the country, and in some areas they are considered pests, because they eat crops. The once vulnerable species has recently experienced a population boom. According to a study by Yamagata University, this led to "serious conflicts" with humans. One of the reasons may be changes in human behavior and the forest environment.