The Japanese macaques are part of the cityscape in the city of Yamaguchi, in the prefecture of the same name in southwestern Japan. There they had been a nuisance for a long time, because the monkeys liked to attack cultivated crops. But recently the monkeys have become so aggressive that dozens of people have been injured.
Attacks by the monkeys have injured 42 people in the past few weeks. They suffered scratches or bite wounds. "It's unusual to see so many attacks in a short space of time," a city official said Monday.
City residents report that the monkeys open sliding doors or climb in through windows. "I heard screaming on the ground floor and ran downstairs quickly when I saw a monkey bending over my child," a father told the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper.
According to a report by public broadcaster NHK, eight people were injured last weekend alone. A teenager was therefore bitten in the leg. The same applied to the mother. According to information from the broadcaster, other people were bitten in the hands and legs.
A four-year-old girl was scratched by a monkey in her room in mid-July, according to the Mainichi Shimbun. Five other people were also injured near the home.
Originally, the monkeys only attacked children and women, but recently men have also fallen victim to them. The incidents made headlines across Japan.
In order to deal with the aggressive animals, the authorities now used tranquilizer weapons. The police have so far not been able to lure the monkeys into traps that have been set up. City officials and police have been patrolling the area since the first attacks in early July.
The city isn't sure if they're dealing with one or more aggressive monkeys, the Japan Times reports.
Similar incidents involving aggressive macaques have occurred in Japan in the past. There were several monkey attacks in Fukuoka Prefecture in August and September last year. At least 18 people were injured. Experts at the time suspected that feeding the monkeys could have led to the attacks, the Mainichi Shimbun wrote at the time. Unconscious provocations could also have been a reason for the attacks.
