One of the marauding primates was captured and killed by local police who were looking for a group of monkeys that assaulted and injured up to 50 people in western Japan, an official said on Wednesday.
The male simian was apprehended while ambling around a high school’s grounds in Yamaguchi City.
However, more monkeys are thought to still be at large, so this may not be the end of the furry, twisted tale.
The nasty gang that has gained global news by attacking citizens with relatively minor scratches and bites has been sought after for weeks by city officials.
According to a representative of the regional agriculture department, the monkey was shot with a tranquillizer pistol by specially hired hunters on Tuesday night and eventually captured near a lake on the school grounds.
The monkey was killed when it was determined to be the same animal that had carried out one of the attacks, he said.
It was around four years old and about 19 inches tall.
Since the attacks started about three weeks ago on adults and children, patrols have been operating in Yamaguchi.
The hunt is still ongoing, though, as 49 people have been hurt as of Tuesday noon, and new attack reports are filtering in.
The city official, who wished to remain unnamed, stated that eyewitnesses “identify monkeys of all sizes, and even after the capture, we’ve been getting tales of further attacks.”
Japanese macaques are prevalent in many sections of the country and are considered a plague in others where they eat crops and even break into homes.
But the recent attacks in Yamaguchi are exceptional; several locals have told the media that they are now armed with umbrellas and tree-chopping shears.