Hunters tracking a group of monkeys that have attacked and injured nearly 50 people in western Japan have captured and killed one of them.
Yamaguchi city officials have spent weeks trying to track down the group, which has made national headlines by attacking residents, mostly leaving minor scratches and bites.
On Tuesday evening, specialist hunters shot a male monkey with a tranquilizer gun and finally caught him near a lake in a school compound.
After being identified as the person responsible for one of the attacks, the monkey, about half a meter tall and approximately four years old, was put down.
Patrols have been carried out in Yamaguchi since attacks on adults and children began about three weeks ago. With 49 people injured as of midday Tuesday and new reports of the attack coming in, the search for the group continues.
“Witnesses describe monkeys of various sizes, and even after the capture we have been receiving reports of new attacks,” said a city official who declined to be named.
Japanese macaques are commonly seen in large parts of the country and are a pest in some areas, eating crops and even breaking into homes, but the spate of attacks in Yamaguchi is unusual.
Some residents have told local media that they now carry umbrellas and tree shears to defend themselves.