JAKARTA, Aug 7 — Animal trappers have captured a rogue monkey that attacked 18 people during a two-week rampage in Indonesia’s Sumatra island, forcing dozens of schools to shut over safety fears.
The adult long-tailed macaque bit and clawed at residents in the town of Tembilahan, with children and elderly people among those injured.
“As of today, there were 19 attacks, with 18 victims. One victim was attacked twice,” Tembilahan fire and rescue service head Junaidy Ismail told AFP today.
Some victims needed more than a dozen stitches and rabies shots.
The monkey was caught on Thursday after wandering into a trap, and rescue workers later released footage showing the visibly distressed animal inside a cage.
Town official Ari Syuria urged residents to stay alert, warning the macaque may not have acted alone.
“The concern is that there may be other monkeys attacking people,” he said in an Instagram post.
Forty schools remained closed today, with hundreds of pupils continuing lessons online until at least Monday, when authorities will decide if it is safe to reopen classrooms.
The monkey has since been taken to Pekanbaru, the capital of Sumatra’s Riau province, where wildlife officials will test it for diseases.
“We want to establish whether the monkey is carrying any diseases,” conservation agency official Ujang Holisudin told AFP.
Human-wildlife conflict is common across Indonesia as rainforest clearing for palm oil plantations shrinks natural habitats, bringing animals such as monkeys, elephants and tigers into closer contact with people.
Biology lecturer Puji Rianti of IPB University said some monkeys have also learnt that humans are an easier source of food.
“It’s not easy to look for food in the forest... It is easier to get food by living near humans... by stealing,” she told AFP.
Puji added it was also possible the aggressive macaque had once been kept as a pet before being released into the wild.
