Japan monkeys: Member of gang terrorising locals caught and killed

A member of a gang of monkeys that has terrorised residents of the Japanese city for weeks has been captured and killed, officials say.

The macaques have injured almost fifty people in Yamaguchi.

The male primate was found in the reasons of a high school on Tuesday evening simply by specially commissioned hunters.

It was tranquilised and later put down in order to was identified as one of the animals responsible for the attacks.

Authorities have been hunting the particular monkeys since the assaults began on grown ups and children about three weeks ago. Most injuries have been moderate scratches and bites.

Incidents are still being reported and the lookup continues for additional members of the gang, an official at the nearby agricultural department informed AFP.

“Eyewitnesses describe monkeys of different dimensions, and even after the catch, we’ve been getting reports of new attacks, ” he said.

The captured monkey was estimated to be four years old plus was about half the metre tall (1ft 7in).

Japanese macaques are common in large parts of the country and in several areas are considered the pest, eating vegetation and sometimes entering homes.

However , the attacks in Yamaguchi are unusual.

A city official said before the capture it turned out “rare to see this many attacks in the short period of time”.

“Initially, only children and women had been attacked, ” they said, adding: “Recently, elderly people and adult men have been targeted too. ”

Earlier efforts in order to capture the creatures with traps unsuccessful and police patrols set up in early Come july 1st have been unsuccessful so far.

Reports incorporate a four-year-old girl scratched after a monkey broke into her house and one animal entering a kindergarten classroom.

Once a susceptible species, Japanese macaques have recently noticed a population growth.

This has resulted in “serious conflicts” with people, according to research through Yamagata University. Modifications in human conduct and forest conditions may be one cause.