Injuries and deaths caused by non-human primate attacks: Paediatric vulnerability

Abstract

A six-month-old girl was taken from her mother’s lap by a macaque monkey ( Macaca) that had entered the room through an open door. The monkey escaped with the infant but subsequently dropped her from a rooftop terrace. Death occurred soon after impact with the ground, and was found at autopsy to be due to blunt cranio-cerebral trauma with skull fractures and intracranial haemorrhage. Monkeys and apes may cause a variety of serious and potentially life-threatening injuries and may manifest quite unpredictable and aggressive behaviour around humans. The very young are particularly vulnerable to primate attacks, and ‘baby theft’ by apes and monkeys is an event that has now been reported, albeit rarely, in a number of different countries around the world. The fatally injured infants have died from bites, falls and drowning. Chimpanzees in the wild may also specifically hunt human infants for food.

Post-Mortem Dental Profile as a Powerful Tool in Animal Forensic Investigations—A Review

“…The nature and incidence of animal attacks on humans varies between different regions of the world depending on the fauna present and the extent of the interactions between humans and animals. Many animals have been reported to attack and bite living humans, with most attacks being caused by the order of carnivorous mammals such as canids (e.g., dog, wolf; [ 22 , 23 ]), felids (e.g., cat, lion, tiger; [ 24 , 25 ]), ursids (e.g., brown bear, polar bear; [ 26 , 27 ]), and non-human Primates (e.g., chimpanzee, gorilla, macaque; [ 28 , 29 ]), as well as by ungulated mammals such as suids (e.g., domestic pig, wild boar; [ 30 , 31 ]) and hippopotamids (e.g., hippopotamus; [ 32 ]), by rodent mammals (e.g., rat, squirrel; [ 33 , 34 ]), by reptiles (e.g., crocodile, iguana; Komodo dragon; [ 35 , 36 , 37 ]), and even by sharks (e.g., white shark, tiger shark; [ 38 , 39 , 40 ]), among other animals.…”

A Recreational Fishing Death Due to a Jumping Spanish Mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson)

“…1 Injuries may be deliberately inflicted in cases of predatory activities when an animal is hunting for food, or defending its territory, or merely being aggressive. [2][3][4] Alternatively, injuries may be entirely accidental, or related to an animal's size or unexpected movements. 5 Deaths caused by animals that inhabit oceans may be the result of blunt or sharp trauma, drowning, or envenomation.…”

“…Blunt trauma is commonly associated with crushing, butting, or stomping, and sharp trauma with biting or goring 1 . Injuries may be deliberately inflicted in cases of predatory activities when an animal is hunting for food, or defending its territory, or merely being aggressive 2–4 . Alternatively, injuries may be entirely accidental, or related to an animal's size or unexpected movements 5 …”