Macaque troop terrorizes central Vietnam village

Bui Thi Thuy Lien, chairwoman of the Ninh Ich Commune People’s Committee, said Friday the animals have been wreaking havoc in Ngoc Diem village, where some 69 families live, for the past few days.

The monkeys usually come at 6-8 a.m. and 5-6 p.m. in groups of eight to 10, hang on electric wires and invade homes, causing scared locals to close all their doors and windows, she said.

Hoang Xuan Thanh, a villager, said the macaques have entered his home several times and stolen chicken eggs.

Locals have a strange story about the origin of the monkeys.

A few years ago some fishermen who were out near the Hon Thi area saw some of them swimming in the sea and brought them to shore.

When the macaques matured and proliferated, locals released them on Nui Be hill so they could live in the wild.

Over time their population has grown into the hundreds. But the Ninh Ich administration has told people not to kill the macaques, adding that other measures are needed to prevent them from being aggressive with people.

An animal expert at the Hon Thi tourism area said most of the monkeys on Nui Be hill were rhesus macaques, and the fact they brave human contact means there is not enough food where they live.

Authorities could give them food as a temporary means to stop their rampage, he added.

 

 

Macaque troop terrorizes central Vietnam village

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