Hunt for wild monkey in Japan after 10 attacks in a fortnight

The attacks began on 8 July in the Ogori district of Yamaguchi prefecture in the country’s south-west. In the most serious incident, it badly scratched an infant after invading a family home.

“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. It looked like it was trying to drag her outside,” the baby’s mother told local media.

Last weekend, the monkey opened the screen door of a first-floor apartment and scratched the leg of a four-year-old girl, leaving her with minor injuries, before attacking other people nearby, according to the Kyodo news agency.

The monkey, said to be 40-50cm in height, also invaded a local kindergarten classroom and scratched a four-year-old girl.