Monkeys snatch breastfeeding baby from mother in Tanzania

Residents have been left in shock after a troop of monkeys snatched a breastfeeding infant from his mother in Mwamgongo village in Kigoma, northeastern Tanzania.

The village borders Gombe National Park.

The mother was breastfeeding her one-month-old baby outside her house on Saturday afternoon when the monkeys invaded her home, snatched the baby boy and attempted to run away with him.

“She screamed for help and villagers rushed to her house to assist her in getting her child…back from the troop of monkeys,” Kigoma Regional Police Commander James Manyama told The Citizen on Monday.

The villagers attempted to rescue the baby and eventually had to use force to get him back. “He got injured on the head and the neck,” Mr Manyama said.

The baby was then rushed to a nearby hospital but died while receiving treatment.