[Animals] Why hundreds of angry macaques are attacking the po[CENSORED]tion of a village in Japan

[-𝓣𝓐𝓚𝓘]

The Japanese police no longer know what to do with the macaques in Yamaguchi, a town in the south of the country. The attacks are becoming more violent.
The situation is delicate. In kindergartens, in public spaces—even in homes, the people of Yamaguchi face troops of violent macaques who, seeking to reclaim their territory, mess with human beings. Some of the attacks are frontal: local police reports indicate that primates intimidate babies with screams.

Other people have expressed concern about the looks they feel on their shoulders when walking down the street. Most likely, it is the Japanese monkeys that, watching them from the tiles on the houses or the trees, wait for the perfect moment to launch their attack. This is the reason.

We suggest: The story of Yakei, the first female alpha macaque in Japan

A rocky recovery

The problem Yamaguchi faces with the growing po[CENSORED]tion of macaques is not new. On the contrary, according to the BBC, it has been a recurring situation for decades. The increasingly virulent growth of the species occurred, in an unusual way, after the extermination that these primates experienced during the 19th century.

Due to the excessive felling of Japanese forests -which are the only habitat for macaques in the country-, the 'snow monkeys' were left without shelter. The reduction of its ecosystem was added to the excessive hunting that Japan allowed at that time. Homeless, and threatened by the pressure of human activity, the species was pushed to extinction until the middle of the 20th century.

IT WAS NOT UNTIL THE SECOND WORLD WAR CAME TO AN END THAT THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT PROHIBITED THE HUNT OF THE SPECIES IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY, EXPLAINS LIVE SCIENCE. WITH THE INSTRUCTION OF PRESERVING A NATIVE SPECIES OF THE JAPANESE FORESTS, THEIR HABITAT WAS RESTORED AND THE MACAQUES BEGAN TO PO[CENSORED]TE THE TERRITORY FROM WHICH THEY WERE DISPOSSESSED.

More than half a century after this resolution was made, in pursuit of reestablishing the po[CENSORED]tions in the country, the macaques took the city of Yamaguchi as their own. It is not the only one: in other towns in Japan, people are afraid to go outside without an umbrella, to protect themselves from the violent attacks they receive from snow monkeys.

Invasion, or recovery of the territory?
A team of scientists describes for Mammal Study as "a problem of modern Japan" the closeness situation with the snow monkeys. In contrast, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species as one of least concern on its Red List for threatened animals. That's how vigorous his recovery has been.

At the same time, the local police had to shoot down one of the most problematic specimens recently. After entering a kindergarten and attacking students on several occasions, the State decided to end the life of the animal. The problem, however, does not end there.

Some media consider that the situation in Yamaguchi is an invasion of macaques. Rather, Japan's natural history suggests that they are reclaiming territory that has been theirs for thousands of years. Perhaps those who invaded space were human po[CENSORED]tions.

Meanwhile, the human po[CENSORED]tion in Yamaguchi has to take precautions when going outside: lest, if luck is not on their side, they receive a macaque bite on the back.

https://www.ngenespanol.com/animales/el-ataque-de-cientos-de-macacos-en-yamaguchi-preocupa-a-la-policia-japonesa/