What began as a search for a single mean monkey has turned into a war with a troop of baby snatchers! The city of Yamaguchi, plagued by a troop of aggressive, fat, and sneaky Japanese macaque has brought in a special monkey tranquilizing unit.
While not as destructive as a giant lizard rising from the sea, the monkeys have attacked nearly 60 people thus far.
AP:
The attacks — on 58 people since July 8 — are getting so bad Yamaguchi city hall hired a special unit to hunt the animals with tranquilizer guns.
The monkeys aren't interested in food, so traps haven't worked. They have targeted mostly children and the elderly.
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Although Japan is industrialized and urban, a fair portion of land in the archipelago is mountains and forests. Rare attacks on people by a bear, boars or other wildlife have occurred, but generally not by monkeys.
No one seems to know why the attacks have occurred, and where exactly the troop of monkeys came from remains unclear.
