Japan monkeys: Terrorizing gang member is apprehended and murdered.

According to authorities, a member of the monkey gang that has been terrorizing the citizens of a Japanese city for weeks has been apprehended and slain.

In Yamaguchi, the macaques have hurt close to 50 people.

The male ape was discovered on Tuesday night by specially hired hunters on the grounds of a high school.

When it was discovered to be one of the animals responsible for the assaults, it was tranquilized and eventually put to death.

Ever since the attacks on people and children started approximately three weeks ago, authorities have been looking for the monkeys. The majority of wounds were minor bites and scrapes.

According to a representative from the neighborhood agriculture department, incidents are continuously being recorded, and the hunt for additional gang members is ongoing.

He stated, "Eyewitnesses describe monkeys of all sizes, and even after the capture, we've been getting tales of further attacks."

The seized monkey was roughly 0.5 meters tall and believed to be four years old (1ft 7in).

Japanese macaques are widespread across the nation and, in certain regions, are regarded as pests because they consume crops and occasionally break into homes.

Attacks like the ones in Yamaguchi are infrequent, though.

It was "unusual to witness this many attacks in a short period of time," a local official remarked before the arrest.

They said that at first, only women and children were attacked, adding, "Recently, older persons and adult males have also been targeted."

Police patrols that were established in early July have been ineffective up until this point, despite earlier attempts to capture the animals using traps failing.

According to reports, a monkey broke into a four-year-old girl's residence and scratched her, while an animal also made its way into a kindergarten class.

Japanese macaques, formerly a threatened species, have lately seen population growth.

According to studies from Yamagata University, this has caused "severe disputes" with individuals. One reason might be changing in human behavior and forest ecosystems.