The unthinkable incident

When you see these pictures, what would you think of these monkeys?

Cute? Adorable?

Playful? Loveable?

Unless we see a huge figure with thick furs and sharp teeth and red eyes and great roar.... I suppose everyone would say monkeys are not a big threat to mankind, really. As a matter of fact, we are so used to see monkeys play some important characters in films, circuses, magic shows, or street performances. In Malaysia, especially at the East Coast, monkeys are trained by villagers to pluck coconuts from the trees. Generally, the existence of monkeys could be beneficial to men.

Because of such perception in mind, it is of course terribly shocking to read this morning’s news headline:

Macaque abducts, bites and drops baby from roof

The baby girl was only 4 days old when she was snatched from the living room and taken up to the roof of the house. The mother, V. Revathy left the baby only for a few second to use the toilet but later frantically searched all over the house for her but found only her body covered in blood lying outside the house. Her face and neck were badly bitten by the macaque, thinking that the newborn was food.

When the monkey released the baby, it fell to the ground and died.

The newspaper further cited:

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.

Negri Sembilan Wildlife and National Parks, with the help from the Fire and Rescue Department and the father of the baby set off to look for the macaque. They found it in some bushes several metres from the house and shot it dead when it began to act aggressively.

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So do you still think monkeys are adorable and playful?

I am not sure about this. It is unfair that I change my perception just because of one isolated case like this. I'll stick to my opinion that the species is harmless to mankind at most of the time but could pose a threat when they are into something that attracts their attention.  Perhaps it's a matter of survival that led them to behave dangerously. Yet, wild animals will still be wild animals. I don't believe in taming them to live amongst human.

To the grieving parents, I am so sorry for the lost of your baby. It's hard to accept that such incident could happen nowadays. Please be strong. I believe the baby is in good hands right now.

Images googled from the net.