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| Not a friendly monkey. /Courtesy of online community |
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| Visitors beware! Courtesy of online community |
By Kang Aa-young, Jung Min-ho
A rogue monkey on Mt. Bukhan has attacked several hikers.
According to the Ministry of Environment Thursday, officials have been trying to capture the monkey since they received reports about it last week. The mountain is not a natural habit for the creatures.
A video clip, which has gone viral, shows the monkey wandering around the mountain. The person who posted it on YouTube on June 9 was almost attacked when he went near the animal.
He backed off and said: "This monkey is not afraid of humans at all."
Watch:
The place where he filmed the monkey is only a few minutes from a residential area.
"The monkey was male and it is about knee-high tall," he said. "The hairs on the back of his thighs were peeled off, so I guess he isn't so well."
Many others said they also saw the monkey in the area, warning people not to go near it.
"The monkey had a black ribbon on his neck," a blogger said. "He was probably raised by someone and abandoned later on the mountain."
The ministry said no serious injuries have been reported. Traps have been installed on the mountain to catch the monkey.
Based on pictures and videos, an official told The Korea Times that it seems it is either a Filipino or Himalayan monkey.
"It is illegal to raise a monkey without government permission," the official said. "Most likely it was smuggled. Once we capture it, we will carry out disease screening and find out who is responsible."
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| A warning sign posted in a residential area near the mountain says: "If you see the monkey, do not give it any food. It could be dangerous." / Captured from Instagram |
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