Cops hunt rogue monkey after 18 people including baby injured in two-week rampage

Wild Japanese macaque attacked people in a western city, with police now setting up traps to try and catch the primate and stop it from targeting any more people

00:29, 20 Jul 2022Updated 14:17, 20 Jul 2022

Japanese police are hunting a wild monkey that has attacked at least 18 people across two weeks in the western city of Yamaguchi.

A baby and two four-year-old girls were also targeted by the Japanese macaque, a species that is native to the country and which can grow up to 52cm tall and weigh just under two stone.

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There are said to be well over 100,000 of this particular species in Japan, which live in various landscapes and terrains, from sub-tropical forests to mountainous regions.

The local mayor’s office has distributed flyers warning people to beware of the rogue animal that first struck on July 8 in the Ogori district, telling them not to leave their windows open, while police have set up traps to try and catch the primate.

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In the most severe case, the monkey entered a family home and badly scratched a baby.

The macaque has attacked 18 people in the city of Yamaguchi, in the west part of Japan(Image: Getty Images)

The girl’s mother told local media: “I was vacuuming when I heard my child crying, so I turned around and saw the monkey had grabbed her by the legs while she was playing on the floor.

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“It looked like it was trying to drag her outside.”

A four-year-old girl also had her leg scratched by the furry intruder as it let itself into a first-floor apartment, before it attacked others nearby, while it also ventured into a kindergarten classroom, and scraped another girl of four’s leg.

This is not the first time of reports of monkeys attacking people in Japan, with one famous case from 2002, when a macaque targeted 23 women in the northern town of Suwa.

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There have been other instances of Macaques attacking people in Japan over the years(Image: Getty Images)

There are believed to be over 100,000 wild macaques in Japan(Image: Getty Images)

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It is believed the primate was looking for a mate, but it attacked and bit several ladies between the ages of 50 to 80.

Residents in the city of Hyuga were also ambushed by an aggressive monkey in 2013, with 18 people falling victim to the male Macaque which was eventually captured and put down.

During that violent spree, one man had to have 20 stitches in his arms and right leg, while he and the 17 others were paid compensation of 20,000 yen (£120) each.

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