Endangered species of monkey breaks loose, attacks humans

Aizawl, Jun 1 (UNI) A pig-tailed macaque, an endangered monkey species, which escaped from the Aizawl Zoological Park (AZP) on May 29, has attacked two persons, officials said today.

The sources added that the monkey was still on the loose and posing a threat to people living in the proximity of the park.

''We have been keeping track of the animal, but since it is an endangered species placed under Schedule I of primates, we just cannot kill it. We have to capture it alive which makes our task more difficult,'' Range Officer of the AZP R Lalrinliana said.

''We have been camping outside the zoo campus, trying to capture the monkey with a tranquilizer gun, since we are hoping that it will come back sooner or later for food,'' Mr Lalrinliana added.

The AZP has two such monkeys which were kept separately when one of them escaped.

''In order to breed them, we keep them in separate cages. Since they are rare species, the Centre is also funding the project for breeding them,'' the range officer said.

UNI