Southwest Japan faces a strange, new wildlife crisis—and it’s no monkey business.
The city of Yamaguchi has come under siege. The invading army? Japanese macaque monkeys.
If you have pithecophobia (a fear of apes or monkeys), you might want to stop reading here.
These furry fiends have attacked 58 people since July 8, 2022. Often they focus their attacks on weaker victims, like children and the elderly. They even try to sneak into nursery schools.
“They are so smart, and they tend to sneak up and attack from behind, often grabbing at your legs,” says one city official.
Don’t worry—so far, nobody has been seriously injured. But for Yamaguchi’s denizens, the threat is real.
The monkeys don’t seem to want food, so traditional traps don’t work. Yamaguchi city hall has hired a special unit of monkey hunters armed with tranquilizer guns to stop the malicious macaques.
Officials have also laid out the instructions for what to do in the event of a monkey encounter:
1. Don’t look the monkey in the eye.
2. Make yourself look as big as possible. Try spreading open your coat as wide as it can go.
3. Back away slowly and quietly with no sudden moves.
But what made these monkeys go bananas? That’s what officials find strange. Nobody knows for sure.
Japan’s cities and businesses have boomed over the years, but much of the country remains surrounded by mountains and forests. On rare occasions, people find themselves on the wrong side of a bear or a boar. But monkeys? Not in Japan.
At least, not until now.
Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. — Psalm 27:3
(A macaque snoops outside a house in Yamaguchi, Japan. Twitter via AP)
