Toddler killed by chimpanzee in western Uganda

A two-month-old baby girl has been killed following an attack by a chimpanzee in the western Uganda district of Kagadi, Albertine Region.

Paul Hakiza, the police spokesperson for Albertine Region, told Xinhua over the telephone that the child was attacked by the chimpanzee Monday evening while being carried by her mother, who was going to tend her fields.

“The chimpanzee jumped out of the bush and grabbed the baby from the back of the mother,” Hakiza said.

According to another report from the local press Kampala Dispatch, the child was dumped by the chimpanzee in the nearby bush after inflicting severe injuries on the head and chest of the baby.

The child was rushed to Kagadi Community Health Center for medical attention but was pronounced dead a few hours later.

The police officer said such incidents of attacks by wild animals from the nearby Murchison Falls National Park were becoming common in the area.

“We are in touch with Uganda Wildlife Authorities, and we have requested them to open up offices in this area so that they can respond in time whenever an attack happens,” he said, advising the community to try and stay away from wild animals as some of them are dangerous to human beings.

“Chimpanzees like attacking children. We need to keep them away from such animals. We know killing wild animals is a crime, but we can avoid conflict with them,” he said.

Last month, a stray elephant attacked farmers in the western Ugandan district of Buliisa, killing one and injuring two others.

In January, stray elephants killed a 53-year-old man in the southwestern district of Kanungu as he guarded his crops against wild animals from the Queen Elizabeth National Park. In 2020, stray elephants from Murchison Falls National Park killed a game ranger in the northern Ugandan district of Nwoya. Enditem