Macaque abducts, bites and drops baby from roof

[Xing Cai]

Thursday October 7, 2010

Macaque abducts, bites and drops baby from roof

By CHITRA S. NATHAN and LESTER KONG
[email protected]

SEREMBAN: In mere minutes, a young woman turned from a happy mother to a grieving one when she lost her four-day-old baby to a wild monkey that was shot dead several hours later. In the 1.15pm tragedy yesterday, the macaque stole into the living room; snatched the child and fled up the roof of the house. The baby fell to the ground and died.

The mother, V. Revathy, 26, had left her first-born child in the living room of the single-storey house near Taman Happy Garden to use the toilet. The baby’s body was discovered later outside the house with her face and neck badly bitten. She was rushed to the Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital here where she was pronounced dead.

Young mother Revathy and her husband V. Neru at the hospital. Inset: A medical officer taking the baby's body to the Tuanku Ja'afar Hospital mortuary.

Revathi’s father-in-law A. Valayutham, 70, was in the living room with the newborn but had gone to get a glass of water when the tragedy occurred. “We frantically searched all over the house and saw her body covered in blood lying outside the house,” he said. Valayutham added that he had noticed a few monkeys outside the house compound at that time.

The area where the family stayed was sandwiched between two residential areas with a foliage of trees nearby where there were monkeys. Negri Sembilan Wildlife and National Parks director Ishak Muhamad said the macaque was shot dead at 4pm. “We suspect the macaque was rummaging for food inside the house. It could have taken the baby to the roof thinking the newborn was food.

“The baby died when it fell to the ground. The monkey had apparently released the newborn, probably because it was alarmed by the parents’ shouts,” Ishak said yesterday. He added that the parents had called the Fire and Rescue Department at 2.15pm, which immediately contacted the Wildlife and National Parks Department. “We reached the house at about 3pm and set off with the baby’s father to look for the macaque,” he said.

Ishak said department officers saw the macaque in some bushes several metres from the house at about 4pm. The macaque was shot when it began to act aggressively. Ishak added that it was the first such case in the state, and believed the male monkey was attracted by a female kept in captivity as a pet by the family.

“This is very unusual. Normally, these monkeys simply steal food or pluck fruit from the yard,” he said. The baby’s father, lorry driver V. Neru, 29, who was not at home when the incident occurred, said he could not believe that such a thing could have happened. “I rushed to the hospital only to be told that she was gone.

“She was our bundle of joy and we were looking forward to spending many happy years with her ... I just cannot believe she’s gone,” he said. R. Shanty, 35, who lives nearby said it was common to see monkeys in groups of three or four in the area. “A while back, my pet dog was attacked by these monkeys. Its badly-bitten body was thrown from a tree.

“I really hope the authorities take action and not wait until another life is lost,” she said. Rahang assemblyman M.K. Arumugam, who visited the family yesterday evening, expressed regret over the incident. “I have brought this matter up before but sadly no action was taken. I am very disappointed that something like this had to happen before the authorities took notice,” he said.

 

[Xing Cai]

Macaques can be an aggressive breed, says expert


Thursday October 7, 2010

Macaques can be an aggressive breed, says expert

By LOH FOON FONG
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PETALING JAYA: If a monkey killed the infant in Seremban, the perpetrator was likely to be either the long-tailed macaque (macaca fascicularis) or pig-tailed macaque (macaca nemestrina), said an expert. Associate professor Dr S. Vellayan, one of the country’s pioneers in primatology and based in Universiti Teknologi Mara, said the two species were aggressive and had bitten human beings.

“We can determine whether the baby was bitten by a monkey by looking at the bites and scratches,” he said in an interview, adding that it was usually the males which tended to be aggressive. “If the monkey had carried away and killed the baby, it could have entered the house following development encroachment into its habitat,” he said. He advised the public to not make direct eye contact with monkeys which might feel threatened and become aggressive.

“To ward off the monkeys, people could keep dogs, use small fire crackers or laser pointers to cause fright,” he said. Malaysian Nature Society head of environment education division Shan Mugaraj said long-tailed macaques were persistent and could turn aggressive when they did not get what they wanted, such as food.

 

[Xing Cai]

Baby could have been mistaken for pet’s offspring


Friday October 8, 2010

Baby could have been mistaken for pet’s offspring

SEREMBAN: The macaque that abducted and bit a four-day-old baby here may have mistaken the newborn as the offspring of the family’s pet female monkey. State Wildlife and National Parks officer Zafifi Ramli said the monkey could have been provoked to attack the baby when it felt its position as the alpha male in the area threatened.

“The male may have been attracted to the female macaque kept by the family. It is possible that the monkey attacked the baby after it mistook the newborn for the female’s offspring when it felt its position as the alpha male was at stake,” he said. The last such incident, he said, was in 2008 when a kindergarten pupil survived an attack by a monkey in Taman Tuanku Ja’afar.

He said the department had received a complaint a year ago from Taman Happy Garden residents and had acted on it by trapping the monkeys that were being a menace. “We usually set traps and take the offending monkeys away but if the monkeys are aggressive and are a threat to security, we sometimes have no choice but to shoot them,” he said, adding that complaints had also been received from residents in Taman SEA, Taman Desa Ros and Taman Guru previously.

“Based on our investigations, we believe the monkey that was shot by our officers was the one responsible for the attack as it had traces of blood on its mouth,” he said. However, he could not confirm if the blood belonged to the infant or was from the injuries sustained by the monkey after it fell from the tree.

Earlier, Wildlife and National Parks Department director Ishak Muhamad said the family did not commit an offence by keeping the monkey as a pet. Seremban Municipal Council president Datuk Abdul Halim Abdul Latif said such complaints were normally referred to the Wildlife Department as the council was not equipped to handle such cases.

 

[Xing Cai]

Killer macaque still alive


Friday October 8, 2010

Killer macaque still alive

By SARBAN SINGH and CHITRA S. NATHAN
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SEREMBAN: Residents of Taman Happy Garden and Taman Mok Sum are claiming that the authorities had shot the wrong macaque and the one responsible for killing a four-day-old baby is still lurking in the nearby jungle. They said the dominant alpha male monkey was too intelligent to become an easy target for Wildlife and National Parks Department officers.

Retired government servant Mohinder Singh, 74, said the alpha male could grow up to 0.7m. “The monkey killed by the officers yesterday was much smaller. Alpha males are bigger and stronger and they have even attacked and killed mongrels,” he said, adding that last year, a group of monkeys almost attacked a five-year-old girl who ventured out of her house to play.

Another resident, P. Vellai, 56, said the dominant monkey was not afraid of women. “The alpha male is huge. The one shot by the officers does not fit the description,” she said, adding that the alpha male was always surrounded by other monkeys while the one shot was all alone. Earlier in the afternoon, the baby was cremated at the Jalan Tun Dr Ismail crematorium and the ashes were strewn in waters off Port Dickson.

“We were planning a grand Deepavali but that will not happen now. My heart bled when I saw my little baby with stitches on her head and face,” said a sobbing V. Revathy, 26, the baby’s mother. Lorry attendant V. Nehru, 30, said they had planned to register their daughter’s birth on Sunday but now she had died without a name.

He also said that it was possible that the killer monkey was attracted to their female pet monkey as male monkeys used to hang around her cage. Later, state MCA chairman Datuk Dr Yeow Chai Thiam and state MIC secretary S. Bathumalai visited the family and presented them with some financial aid.

 

[Valkyrie]

Monkey-attack family to get aid


Saturday October 9, 2010

Monkey-attack family to get aid

By CHITRA S. NATHAN
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SEREMBAN: The family of the infant who died after a vicious attack by a monkey here on Wednesday is entitled to receive aid from a fund for victims of brutal animal attacks. Negri Sembilan Wildlife and National Parks director Ishak Muhamad said he was now preparing a report of the incident for the state Welfare Department. “The family is entitled to receive assistance from the fund, known as Tabung Bantuan Mangsa Serangan Binatang Buas. “We will soon be completing our report, which will include the findings of the police and the post-mortem results,” he told The Star.

Grieving family: State plantation affairs, human resources, environment and public complaints committee chairman Datuk V.S. Mogan consoling the dead infant’s grandfather A. Valayutham as the baby’s parents V. Nehru and Revathy Vanathia look on.

On Wednesday, a monkey stole into the living room of the family’s home near Happy Garden here, snatched the four-day-old girl and fled to the roof of the house. After a frantic search, the monkey was spotted holding the baby with parts of the head, face and neck badly bitten. The monkey was later shot dead by wildlife officials.

“It is a harrowing experience for them to lose their newborn baby under such tragic circumstances. “We hope they will be able to pick up the pieces and move on,” said Ishak, adding that his officers will continue to keep watch over the area to ensure there was no danger posed to the residents. “As for now, there don’t seem to be monkeys in the area but we want to be sure and will keep watch for a few more days,” he said.

A resident, P. James, 46, said they had put up with the monkey menace for many years but never thought it would result in the loss of life. Chong Kim Fatt, 59, said the monkeys often came to the neighbourhood to forage for food. “We cannot blame the monkeys for coming here in search of food ... their habitat has suffered as a result of rapid development in the area.” A group of boys who regularly play football near the jungle, said that monkeys could still be seen on the trees.

A mechanic, who only wanted to be known as Wong, said he usually saw a pair of monkeys near his workshop, which he had been operating for over 20 years. “The monkeys usually hang around the workshop because there are fruit trees nearby. They can be aggressive and don’t fear humans,” he said. Another resident only identified as Ramli, in his 60s, claimed that a male monkey, larger than the one that was shot, was still on the loose.

 

[tankuku]

Bereaved mum fears again as macaques show up


Wednesday October 13, 2010

Bereaved mum fears again as macaques show up

By CHITRA S. NATHAN
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SEREMBAN: Almost a week after the horrific death of her baby from a monkey attack, Revathy Vanathia was traumatised by the sight of two macaques in her backyard. “Seeing those monkeys brought back memories of my newborn daughter. The monkey I saw this morning was the largest I’ve seen so far,” she said on Monday. “I just want the monkeys gone so the same thing will not happen to another person.”

Scary simian: One of the macaques sitting on the roof of an abandoned house near Revathy Vanathia’s home in Seremban yesterday.

She had previously been assured by the state Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) officers that the area was macaque-free. Last Wednesday, a monkey had gone into the living room of the family’s wooden home, adjacent to Taman Happy Garden here, snatched the four-day-old baby girl and fled up the roof of the house. After a frantic search, the baby’s body was discovered outside the house with her face badly bitten.

She was rushed to the Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital here where she was pronounced dead. After sighting the monkeys on Monday, Revathy contacted Rahang assemblyman M.K. Arumugam, who immediately called Perhilitan officers to the site. “The officers came immediately and shot one of the monkeys dead. But another larger one, which seemed more aggressive, managed to escape,” he said.

Arumugam commended the officers for their speedy action but said he was still worried that the monkey, which was on the loose, may pose a threat to residents of the area. Arumugam said he had also informed the Seremban Municipal Council to issue notices to irresponsible landowners. “It is their duty to keep their plot of land clean. Otherwise, it may attract all sorts of wildlife,” he said.

State Perhilitan director Ishak Muhamad said a team of three officers were already near Revathy’s home when he received Arumugam’s phone call. “We were already in the area as we are still keeping watch. When we received the report, the officers went straight over and managed to shoot a female monkey,” he said. Ishak, however, denied claims that the monkey that escaped was the one responsible for the attack on the baby and believed the culprit was the monkey that was shot dead.