H I G A S H I K U R U M E: July 2022

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Japan’s marauding monkeys

Officials in the western Japanese city of Yamaguchi killed a monkey this week that they believe was responsible for a spate of attacks against humans.

Approximately 25,000 monkeys are killed each year in Japan, mostly by municipalities. Clashes between humans and macaques — also known as snow monkeys — are becoming more frequent. In Yamaguchi alone, 56 victims were attacked by a monkey this month, including a baby girl injured in her home and a 4-year-old girl pounced on at a kindergarten.

Japan’s macaque population is thriving, in large part because conservation efforts have been a tad too successful. The population recovery has “provoked and intensified” human-macaque conflicts to the point where people living near the animals now face serious risks of having their own habitats invaded, Hiroto Enari, a primate expert, wrote in a recent study.

The most serious concern, Enari said, is that the animals could spread hepatitis B or other diseases to humans.

Elsewhere in Asia: Human-monkey conflicts are not new to the region. In Thailand, the city of Lopburi has been under siege for years from aggressive crab-eating macaques. In Singapore, officials recently had to guard an apartment complex from invading monkeys.

From Amy Chavez, author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter:

From Amy Chavez, author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter:

"I'm sad to report that the Stone Bridge Lady (p. 27) has passed away at 97 years old. Ishibashi-nechan (older sister Ishibashi) as everyone called her, was the powerful force behind her husband who brought many modern conveniences to Shiraishi Island in the 1960's, including running water and roads. She was lovely to talk to, always lively, and gifted me much of her time describing the old ways of Shiraishi Island..."

Read the rest of Amy's Facebook tribute.