A 3-year-old girl was attacked and almost kidnapped by a wild monkey in a village in Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality on Tuesday afternoon but was luckily saved by a nearby villager. An initial investigation revealed that the monkey had previously attacked local villagers on multiple occasions.

A surveillance video shows the girl playing with a scooter outdoors when the money sneaks up on her, suddenly jumps up, throws her on the ground and swiftly drags her away. Luckily a passerby villager happens to spot the incident, rushes to the monkey and stops a potential tragedy.

According to the girl’s mother, surnamed Liu, the incident happened on Tuesday afternoon when she was doing cooking inside her home while her daughter was playing outdoors alone. Liu only learned about the horrifying moment from her next-door neighbors and through checking the surveillance camera afterwards. Liu immediately reported the incident to the local police and related departments on Tuesday.

Fortunately the girl was not severely injured except for some scratches on her face. According to the local police, the girl will receive further care at a hospital and will be vaccinated.

The same monkey had attacked elderly villagers before, villagers said.

A villager surnamed Chen told Jimu News that the monkey arrived in the village last May and has formed a troop with two other smaller monkeys. The monkey has attacked elderly villagers on multiple occasions but it was the first time a child was attacked.

According to a local police officer, the monkey inhabits the mountains near the village and occasionally comes to the residential area. It once attacked an elderly villager but does not dare to come close to adults, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.

The local police had attempted to catch the monkey but the search efforts turned out to be fruitless. According to the police, there should be a troop of monkeys in the nearby mountains but the specific number is uncertain.

Since there are several young children in the village, the monkey at large poses a great threat to the local villagers, Chen said.

The local authorities have decided to turn the monkey over to the wild animal protection department once it is caught to protect both the monkey and the residents.

The local forestry department told the media that attacks by wild monkeys are sporadic incidents and that the department is taking measures to prevent them from attacking humans again.

Global Times