Monkey without left hand roams Japanese residential areas

[Anchor]

In Japan, a wild monkey without a left hand is becoming a hot topic.

Reports of sightings of this monkey have been coming in for the past seven months, and it is said that it has traveled over 300km during that time.

What is the story behind this?

From Tokyo, Hwang Jin-woo reports.

[Report]

A monkey carefully passes over the railing of an apartment balcony.

This monkey is missing its left hand.

It has also been spotted crossing a crosswalk.

["(Who is taking care of it?) I don't know. Isn't it wild?"]

The recent sightings have been in Hadano City, Kanagawa Prefecture, which is about 60km southwest of Tokyo.

A month ago, it was filmed fighting with crows at the famous tourist spot Kamakura.

It does not avoid people, but it becomes wary if someone approaches too closely.

Sightings of the monkey without a left hand have been reported on Japanese social media for the past seven months.

Starting from Fukushima in April this year, it has been spotted in Tochigi, Ibaraki, Tokyo, and Kanagawa. The combined sighting locations span over 300km.

It is unknown why this wild Japanese monkey lost its left hand.

Japanese social media users are curious about the reason for its long journey from Fukushima to Kanagawa.

[Akami Rie/Curator at Japanese Monkey Center: "Males may leave their groups to live alone or join a male group. If they find another group, they may loiter nearby...."]

Wild monkeys in Japan can attack people, but there have been no reported cases of injury caused by this 'monkey without a left-hand' so far.

Being unable to capture this monkey, local governments are urging citizens to be cautious by providing 'guidelines for behavior'.

This is Hwang Jin-woo from KBS News in Tokyo.