The #1 source for news about monkeys and apes

[Andrew Hund <axh69 AT po.cwru.edu>]

Tuesday, April 22, 2003 Posted: 9:57 AM EDT (1357 GMT)

ISIOLO, Kenya (Reuters) -- Four young girls had the fright of their lives 
when a pack of thirsty baboons attacked them for their water containers in 
a northern region of Kenya ravaged by a long dry spell, a local official 
said on Tuesday.

Aisha Wako, 12, suffered cuts and bruises to the face as she tried to fight 
off the animals while Mumina Golicha had her clothes ripped by the baboons' 
claws.

Wako and her friends were attacked by about thirty baboons as they walked 
the 12 km (7.2 miles) back to their village from drawing water at a well in 
Isiolo district, 320 km (192 miles) north of the capital Nairobi last Friday.

"This problem is not only confined to the area where the attack took place, 
but is in most parts of the district which is experiencing severe shortage 
of water and pasture that threatens both the lives of human beings and wild 
animals," Isiolo County Council Chairman Ibrahim Halake Fayo said.

As a result of the attack women walking long distances to fetch drinking 
water for their families have to be accompanied by local men to guard 
against wild animals.

Lions, hyenas and elephants now share the boreholes used by local people 
for fresh water due to a biting water shortage caused by low rainfall in 
the east African country.

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http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/04/22/kenya.baboons.reut/index.html