Monkey steals baby from living room

A newborn baby girl has died after being snatched from her family's living room by a monkey.

Published: 6:00AM BST 07 Oct 2010

The four-day-old infant has been left alone for just a few minutes when she disappeared.

Her body was found shortly later outside the home in central Negri Sembilan state, Malaysia's Star and the New Straits Times newspaper reported.

The baby, who was found by her mother and grandmother, had bite marks on her neck and face.

Her father was quoted as saying a macaque monkey had been seen roaming near the house in recent weeks.

The baby's grandmother said that she was in the kitchen when the infant, who had not yet been named by her parents, was snatched.

"When my daughter-in-law placed the baby in the living room after bathing her, she went into the bathroom again to get something," she said.

"Just for the short while, she found the baby missing when she returned to the living room. We were all anxious when blood stains were spotted on the floor."

Ishak Muhamad, a state wildlife official, said that the monkey may have been attracted by a female pet monkey that the family kept in a cage.

"We suspect the macaque was rummaging for food inside the house. It could have taken the baby to the roof thinking the newborn was food," he told the paper.

"The baby died when it fell to the ground. The monkey had apparently released the newborn, probably because it was alarmed by the parents' shouts."

Malaysian authorities have battled a booming macaque population in cities.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/malaysia/8047537/Monkey-steals-baby-from-living-room.html