In the Japanese city of Gero, Gifu Prefecture, monkeys have taken to vandalizing graves at a local cemetery. Since September, the animals have repeatedly knocked over flower vases, shifted headstones, and damaged stone slabs. One of the uninvited guests was caught on video, according to the Japanese outlet FNN.
The footage shows a monkey tipping over flowers, inspecting headstones, and rocking a heavy stone slab until part of the structure collapses. One local resident complained that his father’s grave had been vandalized twice; he had just restored the headstone but is now forced to reinforce it with netting.
Experts from the Japan Monkey Centre speculate that the animals are attracted to their own reflections in the polished black headstones. The rocking of the stone slabs may be linked to the Japanese macaques’ mating season; in the autumn, males often shake trees and other objects to display their strength.
Meanwhile, monkeys are causing trouble in other parts of Japan as well. In the city of Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture, a driver filmed a macaque calmly eating fruit by a mountain road. A month earlier, a troop of approximately 30 macaques had been spotted in the area. Due to the increasing frequency of animal raids on farmland, the police plan to step up patrols.
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