Monkey Attack in West Nowhere
In my time living here in Shimane Prefecture, A.K.A. “West Nowhereâ€?, I have never heard of a monkey attacking. In the six years that I have been here, we have had numerous bear attacks and wild boar attacks, but this is the first I have heard of aggressive monkeys. Usually, the bears or wild boars wander into somebody’s farm and attack them randomly, occasionally we hear of some Oji-san (old man) who gets attacked while looking for mushrooms in the mountains, but mostly it is close to home. I often find myself wondering what I would do if a bear or wild boar attacked while walking the dog, or while walking with the kids down the quiet mountain roads. Should I climb a tree? Jump in the river? Release the dog and hope that she loves me enough to attack a wild animal? Should I send the kids running to the nearest house while I try to stare down and/or fight the wild animal alone? Scary thoughts, and probably foolish, but I have them nonetheless while walking the quiet overgrown roads out here. I generally try to hold to the “not meâ€? philosophy on this point, that these kinds of things always happen to “other people, not me.â€? Foolish, or statistically sound? Either way I am sure that my mental exercises of wild animal defense strategy will continue as long as I live out here…
Although I have heard from our neighbor that there are monkeys in the mountain behind our house, I have never seen one in Hamada myself. The monkeys around here are fairly elusive. I have seen a number of wild boars around here though, and I actaully have a great video somewhere of one coming right up to greet our dog in the backyard. This little baby boar took shelter in our backyard for a few hours one day while all the people in town were running around trying to find it. They were all talking about how delicious it would be in there stew, or on their grill. We gave it shelter, and kept it’s secret while it rooted for snacks in our leaf-covered yard. We also often see wild boar on the roads here, and have had more than a few close calls. We love to see them on the roads, as the way that they run is just plain cute. Entirely different from the graceful gait of a dog, they seems to skitter in an awkward cloven prance. One can’t help but smile at the spectacle of this powerful wild pigs skittering down the tarmac as they run from oncoming cars. Oddly enough, they often choose run straight down the road rather than jumping off to the side. They choose the easier, yet more perilous path…
While the wild boar a fairly visible, the bears are more elusive. I have never actually seen a wild bear in Shimane, but I have seen many signs of them. A friend of mine brought me up to an old abandoned farm on a mountain top that bears had claimed as their own. We saw many signs of the bears hibernating there, but thankfully no actual bears. On another day, my wife and I were hiking with our then one year old son. He was strapped to my back in a baby backpack while we climbed Mt. Kanagi (I think that was the mountain’s name…). We were about half-way up the steep trail when we came upon what appeared to be bear droppings. It certainly was too big to be from a dog… We deliberated for a while as to what to do, and then I decided, perhaps foolishly, that if the droppings were cool to the touch, that the bear would be far enough away for us to safely continue. So, diaper wipe in one hand, I buried the second knuckle of my other hand into the pile and found it pleasingly cool and dry. A few moments wiping later and we were on our way to the peak. In hindsight, we probably should have returned to the car, but it did turn out to be a wonderful hike.
Anyway, it was a monkey attack that brought me here, so let me share the link to the story that appeared on Crisscross News Japan today about an attack in Hamada.
Monkey attacks 7 women, man in Shimane; hay fever blamed
Friday, March 10, 2006 at 07:26 EST
A flush-faced monkey attacked seven women and a man in Hamada town, Shimane Prefecture, on Wednesday and Thursday, police said. The first attack occurred Wednesday morning when a woman in her 80s was bitten by the monkey while she was picking flowers. Six women who live in the same area were also attacked Wednesday afternoon, while a man working on a farm was bitten Thursday morning.
Locals said that monkeys have been more evident since last autumn, but they never attacked anyone. Police think the marauding monkey might be suffering from hay fever because of its flushed face and violent behavior. Local hunters and police are currently searching for the monkey.
Hay fever? If they find him are they going to shoot him with an antihistamine dart? This seems like a rather odd explanation for a violent monkey. Has your hay fever ever caused you to bite people?
Anyway, I am off to study up on proper defenses against monkey attacks…
March 12th, 2006 at 1:51 pm
Steve-Oji-San,
Bears, boars, and wild monkeys.
Do you live in the “West Epping of Japan”?
I think you wrote that just so you could relate having your knuckles in bear poop.
I think wild monkeys would be more vicious than bears and boar put together.
They’ve got a mean streak a mile wide. Look at the bones!
If you are hiking, wear small bells on your clothes (no joke) as bears are solitary and will generally avoid you.
If you see a wild boar, fend it off with mustard and rye bread (joke).
For an interesting story on a man and bears, look for the movie ‘Grizzly Man’, produced by the Discovery Channel.
It tells the story of a former alcoholic/drug addict who journeyed up to Kodiak Island in Alaska for 13 summers and lived with grizzly bears.
He thought his presence would discourage poaching and found that his interest in the bears “saved” him from his addictions.
Then a hungry bear ate him.
It’s a very interesting movie/documentary.
-Matt
March 26th, 2006 at 7:50 am
I can’t help it… that frog has got to have the best old man impersonation on the web.
Thanks for the comment the other day. Helped me to shake off the recent funk. Feeling a lot better today.