Monkey killed for attacking infant

Monkey killed for attacking infant

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post/Bogor

A monkey attacked Prihasto Setianto's four-month-old son who was
sleeping in a baby carriage near the Putri Astrid soccer field in
the Bogor Botanical Garden, where Prihasto was attending a mass
Idul Fitri prayer meeting early on Sunday.

Rafid Adrianto had to have 14 stitches to his cheek, forehead
and around the eyes as a result of the attack.

Park rangers spent the rest of the day hunting the monkey.

"We caught the monkey in a mosque. We have immediately killed
it and dumped its body in the river," security coordinator
Sularno said on Monday.

He was referring to the Ciliwung River, which runs through the
park.

Not satisfied, Prihasto, a researcher at the agricultural
research center in Pati, Central Java, who was visiting his
parents in Bogor, demanded that the park management remove all
the monkeys from the park.

"I'm worried the monkey was infected with rabies ... the wound
on my second son's cheek seems to be staying moist. I hope this
sort of thing will not happen to other people," he said.

According to Rafid's nanny, Gina, the monkey clambered down a
tree and attacked the baby while they were waiting for other
members of family on the park's Jl. Bunga Saputangan.

Sularno said only five monkeys lived in the park, and these
were normally to be found in the trees of Jl. Kenari I.

"That monkey did not belong to the pack, whose members were
actually abandoned here by visitors," he said, adding that the
park management would collaborate with the management of the
Taman Safari Indonesia animal park to relocate the monkeys.