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They move a bit like us and we admire their intelligence, their ability to use tools and their strong sense of community, but monkeys and chimpanzees are dangerous wild animals.
Tales of attacks from monkeys are frequent in the press. In November a 10-year-old boy was killed by one outside a temple in western India while in March this year, a woman was left with injuries after she was attacked by a pet monkey in Oklahoma in the US. The monkey was shot and killed by a family member.
Over the years, humans and monkeys have been pushed together, as some species’ numbers multiply and our own expansion encroaches on their natural habitats the chances of violence have only gone up. Following an attack in Japan last summer, the New York Times’ headline read: “A Marauding Monkey Was Killed in Japan. Others Will Take Its Place.”
READ MORE: How to survive ancient Egyptian 'curses' as history expert says it's all about 'spores'
For more on Hazard Harry's foolish exploits, click here
Their and our famous relative, the chimpanzee, is a member of the great apes but is another primate that has fascinated for generations. Are they like us? Million of us have asked – in some ways maybe they are, but a lot, lot stronger.
But what if either a monkey or a chimpanzee took a dislike to you, their intelligent, complex emotions leading them to violence? To answer this, the Daily Star's Hazard Harry spoke to Frankie Hobro ofAnglesey Zooto explain what it is that could make them attack, how they’d do it and what you can do.
“In the wild chimpanzees, monkeys and other primates are not used to people, they are afraid of us,” she said.”So when these animals attack humans it is due to them being ‘humanised’ in some way – either as pets or captive animals or through such regular habituation to human contact or encounters that they are no longer afraid of us – such as in tourist hotspots or urban areas.
“So really wild chimps and monkeys don't attack people. But in captivity, they have learned that they are stronger than humans.
“Primates such as monkeys and chimpanzees may look cute and appealing but they are potentially dangerous. Even when tamed, these are still wild animals – they belong in the wild and do not make suitable house pets. Primates need space, companions and mental stimulation – not what you find in someone's living room!
“Many attacks by chimps in captivity have been on someone they know and it is extremely difficult to predict this or what the triggers are. They are very complex creatures and it's often impossible to figure out what reason they have for attacking. Having a chimp in your home is like having a tiger in your home. It's not really very different. They are both very dangerous and unpredictable!”
They look a bit like us and maybe we see ourselves in them, but how much stronger are these animals than humans? Frankie explained: “Chimpanzees have a genetic profile that is 98% the same as humans so they can seem like cute, hairy versions of people. But the chimpanzee has strength that is utterly incomprehensible for a human especially in pulling and gripping movements because they are adapted to climbing trees and brachiating.
“People watch pro wrestlers on TV and think they are strong but a pro wrestler would not be able to hold a chimpanzee, even a young one of four or five years old. According to a 2017 study chimpanzees are 1.5 times stronger than a strapping human and contain about twice the amount of ‘fast-twitch’ muscle fibres as we do which seems to be what gives them their extraordinary strength. Male chimps have been measured as having five times the arm strength as a human male!”
They can stand as tall as four to five and half feet (1.22m to 1.68m) and run up to 25mph (40kph) with adult males weighing up to 40 to 60kg, but what of monkeys? “An average-sized monkey such as a macaque is much smaller than a chimpanzee,” Frankie said, “at around 2 feet tall and weighing approximately seven to eight kg, but just because monkeys are smaller it doesn't mean they can't harm you. These monkeys are commonly encountered in tourist hotspots abroad and they can be quite aggressive so should be given a wide berth—injuries from these primates often require hospital care and can result in serious complications.”
Tourist areas where the monkey have gotten used to humans is where they will become most aggressive, but babies are something to watch out for too.
“Never attempt to approach or touch a young monkey or a mother monkey while she's nursing her baby,” Frankie explained. “Because monkeys are highly social creatures, if they sense a threat to one of their pack, they'll come to the defence of one another and you might be attacked by the entire pack!”
But what if you attract the ire of a chimp or monkey? “During attacks, chimps will target a person's face, hands, feet and genitals and they can show tremendous mutilation extremely quickly. A chimpanzee can easily bite your face and pull off your skin in just minutes.
“A study in Bali on macaque monkeys in tourist hotspots found that most of their bites don’t break the skin, but a wound could allow transmission of herpes B, which can be fatal to humans. Aggressive urban monkeys will give you lots of warnings before they attack.
"First, the animals will look at you in the eyes, open their mouths, and bare their teeth. Rhesus macaques, the aggressive monkeys that cause a lot of trouble in Delhi, will then warn you with a grunt. Next, they might fake a lunge toward you, which often causes the victim to lose their balance. If you’re still withholding food, they’ll grab at your knees and legs, and put their mouths on you so that you can feel their teeth. Finally, if you still won’t cooperate, they’ll sink their canines into you.
“Baboons, which sometimes attack humans in Africa, are much more dangerous as they’re bigger and less predictable, and they’re armed with 3-inch-long canines. Last year, a South African man’s forearms were ripped to the bone, and doctors dug out a baboon tooth during surgery. Having encountered an aggressive male baboon unnervingly close-up in South Africa, I can confirm that those canines are seriously brutal! Needless to say, I allowed him to take my entire lunch box and scarpered as quickly as I could!”
If you find yourself in that situation, what options do you have? Frankie explained: “Stay as calm as possible and absolutely do not scream – although easier said than done in the face of a huge primate with canines! Do not try to fight the monkey or push it off.
“Give them what they want – anything that they may have an interest in such as food, leave on the ground and let them have it. When monkeys get aggressive, it’s usually because they think you have something to eat. If you are holding a snack, throw it in their direction, and they’ll stop bothering you.
"If you don’t have any food, hold out your open palms to show you’re not carrying a tasty treat. Back away very slowly and look at the ground to avoid eye contact, and don’t smile with your teeth showing, as in the nonhuman primate world, these are almost always signs of aggression.”
Tale of the tape
Weight: Chimp, male 40-60kgs. Hazard Harry, a lot more than that if he keeps eating so much on the flights to all these places
Strength: Chimp, 1.5 times stronger than a "strapping" human. HH, far from "strapping", you know how this goes
Taste for cannibalism? Chimp, Yes. Hazard Harry, can't even spell it
Score: 2-1
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- Animals
- Monkeys
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