Chinese park rangers battle wild monkeys with slingshots ‘to protect tourists from the animals’ attack’
- Shocking footage shows a staff member using the weapon at the national park
- The man is seen aiming the slingshot at the woods where the macaques inhabit
- The tourist attraction said they resorted to the approach to protect their visitors
- But the video angered many animal lovers who slammed the measure ‘vicious’
Staff at a national park in China have resorted to using slingshots to scare off macaques in order to protect the tourists from being attacked by the wild animals.
Social media footage shows one of the park rangers aiming the weapon at the woods, where the wild monkeys inhabit at the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in central Chinese province Hunan.
The scenic spot later confirmed the incident with reporters, adding that the measure was used to protect their visitors from the animals’ attack, which had been happening regularly.
Social media footage shows one of the park rangers aiming the weapon at the woods, where the wild monkeys inhabit at the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in central China’s Hunan
Staff at the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in central China’s Hunan province has sparked outrage online after they used slingshots to scare off macaques in order to protect the tourists
The national park, covering 18.5 square miles of land, is famous for being home to more than 3000 distinct types of plants as well as diverse animal species.
Swarms of macaques can be spotted playing on the main trails while endangered species such as Chinese giant salamander, Chinese water deer and the elusive clouded leopard lurk deep in the park’s wilderness.
But the popular tourist attraction has faced a fierce backlash after footage of its staff member driving the wild monkeys away on the site with a slingshot emerged on Chinese social media on Tuesday.
A tourist who filmed the video told the Chinese media that there were a couple of park rangers aiming the weapons at the macaques, a species listed under the second class of wildlife protection in China.
The visitor can be heard asking the staff member: ‘I was wondering who ordered you guys to hit [the animals with slingshots]?’
The popular tourist attraction has faced a fierce backlash after footage of its staff member driving the wild monkeys away on the site with a slingshot emerged on Chinese social media
The national park, covering 18.5 square miles of land, is famous for being home to more than 3000 distinct types of plants as well as diverse animal species. The file photo shows a macaque monkey resting on a tree branch at the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
The man replied: ‘The environmental protection departments.’
A spokesperson from the national park later confirmed the incident, claiming that the measure was used to protect their visitors from being harmed by the monkeys.
‘The monkeys at the park attack the tourists almost on a daily basis,’ he told Chinese video news site Feidian.
He added that the slingshot bullets were made of plastic and had not ‘actually harmed any monkeys’.
The incident has sparked anger online as many animal lovers slammed the park’s approach outrageous.
One commenter wrote: ‘This is too vicious! Who will pay for human cruelty towards wild animals? Animals have never violated humans! It is the endless development of mankind that has violated the homeland of wild animals!’
The national park is home to many endangered species such as Chinese giant salamander, Chinese water deer and the elusive clouded leopard which lurk deep in the park’s wilderness
The scenic spot later confirmed the incident with reporters, adding that the measure was used to protect their visitors from the animals’ attack, which had been happening regularly
Another one said: ‘Does intimidation need to be used this way? Why are the monkeys punished already just because they could potentially hurt people? Tourists should not visit the park if they are afraid of being hurt. How can such an approach be considered protection?’
But other Chinese web users appeared to agree with the national park’s measure, with many claimed to have previously visited the beauty spot and been attacked by the macaques.
One commenter said: ‘I’ve been to Zhangjiajie in July. The monkeys there are really dangerous. I don’t see why this is wrong.’
Another wrote: ‘It’s okay to just drive them away. Haven’t we heard enough news about wild monkeys grabbing things and hurting people? No matter how cute a wild animal is, it’s still a wild animal. It won’t make sense with you. It’s better to keep a distance between humans and monkeys.’
In a previous interview, the Zhangjiajie park said that the monkeys attacked the visitors mostly because people fed them food, which is forbidden on the site.
‘We have received complaints from tourists that they were scratched by monkeys,’ Zhang Li, a site manager told the local media.
‘And 80 per cent of those tourists got scratched by monkeys because they teased or fed the monkeys. After these monkeys are fed, they often follow the feeders and even snatch food from tourists.’
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