Marauding macaque making a monkey out of hunters

Residents of two towns in central Japan are waging a battle against a marauding monkey that has bitten dozens of people in the past few weeks.

Nearly 60 people in the towns of Mishima and Susono near the scenic Izu peninsula and Mount Fuji have been chomped by the macaque since mid-August, mostly on the calves. Mishima now publishes a daily "biting monkey" alert on the town website, posting where the animal was most recently spotted and warning residents to keep doors and windows shut.

Fed up with the troublemaker, a group of about 130 officials - including police and zookeepers - conducted a hunt yesterday in hopes of capturing the animal. But the search proved fruitless.

"We ended up not being able to catch a monkey, or find one, today," an official said.