A unique disaster struck the Yamaguchi city in Japan, when macaque monkeys invaded the city, biting and clawing at flesh, injuring many people.

This special breed of monkeys isn’t interested in food. Any attempt at trapping them with sustenance, thus, has been unsuccessful.

So far, the monkeys have attacked 58 people.

“They are so smart, and they tend to sneak up and attack from behind, often grabbing at your legs,” city official Masato Saito told AP News.

A special team has been formed to catch these monkeys with tranquillizer guns. One male monkey was caught last week. He measured 49cm in height and weighed 7kgs.

The youngest victim of the monkey attacks was a 10-month-old girl, whose leg was scratched by a macaque entering the house.

Another monkey bit a man doing laundry outside, while one raided a nursery school, creating chaos among the children.

When faced by such a monkey, people are instructed to avoid looking them in the eye and making any sudden moves. They should also make themselves look as big as possible, by spreading open their coats.

Tokyo is an urban area but a fair portion of land is mountains and forests. Although rare attacks occur in the area, a mass attack by a single breed of monkeys has never occurred before.

According to the city official, no one really knows where the troop of monkeys came from.