Saturday 13 June 2009

Monkey Chase!

The people of Kisarazu in Chiba have failed where their compatriots in Shibuya also failed. Late last month, 30 people attempted to capture a monkey that was running amok in the town, chasing it through streets and over rooftops, but they were outmaneouvred and outrun.


Why were they chasing the monkey though? Was it causing damage to property or something? I know nothing about the countryside, other than that it doesn't have internet and is therefore something to be avoided, so I very rarely come into contact with animals. I can't imagine the monkey was being that much of a danger to anyone or anything, but maybe that's ignorance on my part and monkeys are an infamous threat to crops or something.

Pretty much the same thing happened in Niigata in March, but the people there caught their quarry. They initially tried to outwit it by leaving bananas laced with tranquilliser around, but when the monkey didn't fall into their trap they ended up just cornering it in a garage. And it only took 20 people there. Here's a video of the Niigata chase:


Sadly there's been no news about the Shibuya Monkey, who evaded train-station workers, the public and the police for months. I really hope it survived the winter.

2 comments:

JoJo said...

I'm sure it survived, don't Japanese monkeys usually live in the mountains? I've seen loads of National Geographic pictures of them covered in snow and all.

As far as the dangers they pose, monkeys are really badass, they typically carry a fuckload of diseases and are very prone to biting. When I was living in Japan, my mother's friend got monkeys on the roof of her car whilst driving through the mountains. She thought it was cute, and put a banana out through the window, but the monkey savaged her hand instead of taking the banana. It happened instantaneously, and she still has the scars.

The monkeys need to be destroyed.

Sly said...

Just like the ferocious Swans, right Jo? Perilous beyond contemplation. lol.