Killers Among Chimpanzees Target Human Children
Over the past 20 years, many forests where chimpanzees lived have been cut down in Africa, bringing chimpanzee and human territories very close to each other.
This situation has given rise to a completely new phenomenon – chimpanzees that deliberately stalk and attack people, specifically targeting small children as they still fear adults to some extent.
Real chimpanzees are not the small, cute monkeys making faces in circuses, which only work with young chimps. Adult chimpanzees are very muscular, agile, and intelligent beings, each much stronger than an adult human male.
In the wild, chimpanzees regularly hunt mammals for meat and sometimes even kill small monkeys. Could this explain their behavior, or is it something more complex? Like humans, each chimpanzee has its own personality, and possibly, as with humans, some may be born more violent and, under certain conditions, may vent their rage on the defenseless.
Groups of chimpanzees inhabit Central and Western Africa – in Uganda, Congo, Rwanda, Cameroon, Tanzania, etc. Today, for residents of local villages, chimpanzees are real man-eating monsters, far more dangerous than traditional African predators like lions, crocodiles, or hyenas because they are much smarter and craftier.
It all started with the appearance of individual “maniac” chimpanzees in Uganda. One was named Saddam, and another, Kiki.
Saddam
Saddam began attacking human children in the late 1990s. He became notorious for sneaking into huts at night and silently stealing babies lying on blankets or even strapped to their sleeping mother’s back.
In one instance, Saddam climbed through a window into a hut where children were sleeping. When he grabbed a little girl, she screamed, waking her 10-year-old brother. The boy saw the chimpanzee taking his sister and raised the alarm.
The villagers immediately armed themselves with sticks and spears, chased Saddam into the forest, and caught up with him before he could kill the baby. They attacked the chimpanzee, and he fled, leaving the child with a torn-off arm and a severe head bite. Fortunately, the girl survived.
Saddam abducted a total of seven children, killing two and injuring the others. After he killed the second infant, the villagers gathered a large group and hunted Saddam down, eventually killing him with spears.
Kiki
In the early 2000s, another chimpanzee began abducting and killing children in the villages of Western Uganda. This one was named Kiki.
Initially, Kiki was frequently seen wandering near human villages before he started attacking. He was much larger than Saddam and did not restrict his activities to nighttime.
In one case, a mother with an infant went to the field during the day to collect sweet potatoes and soon noticed a large chimpanzee creeping toward her. Terrified, she ran and accidentally dropped her baby. The chimpanzee immediately grabbed the child.
Later, when villagers went into the forest to retrieve the baby from the chimpanzee, they found Kiki eating the child’s face alive. The chimpanzee was driven away, and the baby was rushed to the hospital but soon died from the injuries.
The exact number of children who fell victim to Kiki is unknown, as is his fate. It remains unclear if he was killed or if he still terrorizes Ugandans.
Horror in Kyamajaka
Since 2014, chimpanzees have aggressively attacked children in the village of Kyamajaka, in Uganda’s Muhororo municipality. On July 20 of that year, a mother named Ntegeka Semata was digging in her garden when a chimpanzee entered.
She did not notice the chimpanzee until it suddenly jumped out and grabbed her 2-year-old son, Mujuni. The chimpanzee dragged the child away, beat him like a rag doll, then threw him into the grass and fled.
The chimpanzee broke the boy’s arm, inflicted many severe head blows, and struck his stomach with such force that it caused a penetrating wound with internal organs protruding. The boy was rushed to the hospital, but nothing could be done to save him.
Since then, chimpanzee attacks in Kyamajaka have become a constant horrifying reality. At least three children have been killed and six injured. Some residents have fled the village, abandoning their homes.
It is believed that a group of about 12 chimpanzees roams Kyamajaka. They mainly stay around fruit orchards and banana plantations, picking fruits but also often enter the village itself, wandering between houses.
Decades ago, dense forests, home to many chimpanzees, stood where Kyamajaka is now. People cut down most of the forests, but the chimpanzees did not want to leave.
Scientists are still unsure how to assess this situation. Some believe that wild chimpanzees are encountering humans this closely for the first time, and their aggression is mostly random. Allegedly, chimpanzees have not yet developed a strategy for dealing with humans in such conditions.
Others suggest that chimpanzees see humans as competitors and even understand that they have lost their usual food sources because of people. Therefore, their aggression towards humans is understandable, and children are simply an easier target than stronger adults.
