A chimpanzee attacked and injured a one-year-old child in West Division, Mubende Municipality of Uganda, APA can report on Thursday.
According to Rose Asiimwe, mother of the injured child, the incident occurred while she had gone to the garden in search of a living.
“I had gone to the garden to look for money to support my four children when the chimpanzee grabbed my baby. I raised an alarm, and neighbours came and hunted it,” Asiimwe said.
She added that residents responded quickly and managed to scare off the chimpanzee, which eventually dropped the child, leaving it heavily injured.
“My baby got a fracture on the left arm and sustained wounds on the buttocks,” she said.
“Since we came here, doctors only treated the wounds and prescribed medicine, but I do not have money to buy it,” she added.
Community member Editha Namatovu said residents rushed to the scene after hearing the alarm and found the child already injured.
“I heard the woman raising an alarm, informed other locals, and we went to help. We found the baby already injured,” she said.
Namatovu added that fear has now gripped the village, with many residents avoiding routine activities such as fetching water and collecting firewood due to repeated chimpanzee encounters.
“The chimpanzee is very aggressive. We no longer fetch water or firewood because many people have encountered chimpanzees in the gardens,” she said.
Just a month ago, a chimpanzee in Masindi district of Uganda attacked and killed a three-month-old baby as conflict between human and wildlife erupted near Budongo Forest.
MG/as/APA