Baboons Declare War On Humans in Saudi Arabia

It’s a story Alfred Hitchcock would love. Baboons, extraordinarily social animals whose collective noun is appropriately “troop” are harassing a Saudi village, targeting houses in coordinated assaults while cleverly avoiding poison bananas the villagers have left behind. Arab News brings us the bizarre story:

A minor war has broken out south of Qunfudah in the village of Kiad where large groups of hungry baboons from nearby valleys are attacking residences in search of food and drink. Residents have employed a variety of methods to combat the primates but it is still a daily battle from sunrise to sunset.

Hussein Al-Barakati, a resident of Kiad, said that he feared for his mother’s safety as she lives alone near the valley. Baboons raid her home from time to time in search of water. Weather conditions have left the valley parched and prompted the baboons to forage among the humans.