Blood-Sucking Monkeys Attacking Kids
Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2005 11:40 pm
From Netscape News:
Blood-Sucking Monkeys Attacking Kids
If there is one scene in "The Wizard of Oz" movie that truly terrifies children, it's the one where the Wicked Witch's flying monkeys soar through the eerie, shadowy sky and zoom down through the woods, plucking up Dorothy and her friends. That scene has almost come true. Blood-sucking monkeys that have been lurking at an ancient Hindu temple in India's northeast have attacked up to 300 children during the past three weeks.
Heres the Associated Press story:
GAUHATI, India -- Monkeys lurking at an ancient Hindu temple in India's northeast have attacked up to 300 children over three weeks, temple officials said.
"They hide in trees and swoop on unsuspecting children loitering about in the temple premises or walking by, clawing them and even sucking a bit of blood," Bani Kumar Sharma, a priest at the Kamakhya temple in Assam state, said Tuesday.
At least 2,000 rhesus monkeys roam in and around the temple, but none had shown aggressive behavior in the past, he said.
"I was returning home from school when a monkey suddenly pounced on me, scratched my head and hand and pushed me to the ground," said Jolly Sharma, a 6-year-old girl.
Monkeys are often found in tens of thousands of temples across India. They are seen as a symbol of Hanuman, the mythical monkey god, and devotees visiting temples often feed them. While occasional attacks by monkeys are not uncommon at temples, the sudden surge in attacks at the Gauhati temple has experts perplexed.
Some say the monkeys may be turning violent because of shrinking living spaces, or because animals once kept as pets might not have been able to adjust to new lives around the temple.
Blood-Sucking Monkeys Attacking Kids
If there is one scene in "The Wizard of Oz" movie that truly terrifies children, it's the one where the Wicked Witch's flying monkeys soar through the eerie, shadowy sky and zoom down through the woods, plucking up Dorothy and her friends. That scene has almost come true. Blood-sucking monkeys that have been lurking at an ancient Hindu temple in India's northeast have attacked up to 300 children during the past three weeks.
Heres the Associated Press story:
GAUHATI, India -- Monkeys lurking at an ancient Hindu temple in India's northeast have attacked up to 300 children over three weeks, temple officials said.
"They hide in trees and swoop on unsuspecting children loitering about in the temple premises or walking by, clawing them and even sucking a bit of blood," Bani Kumar Sharma, a priest at the Kamakhya temple in Assam state, said Tuesday.
At least 2,000 rhesus monkeys roam in and around the temple, but none had shown aggressive behavior in the past, he said.
"I was returning home from school when a monkey suddenly pounced on me, scratched my head and hand and pushed me to the ground," said Jolly Sharma, a 6-year-old girl.
Monkeys are often found in tens of thousands of temples across India. They are seen as a symbol of Hanuman, the mythical monkey god, and devotees visiting temples often feed them. While occasional attacks by monkeys are not uncommon at temples, the sudden surge in attacks at the Gauhati temple has experts perplexed.
Some say the monkeys may be turning violent because of shrinking living spaces, or because animals once kept as pets might not have been able to adjust to new lives around the temple.
