Monkeys are no strangers to making >headlines in Saudi Arabia, but this week they were in the news for a kidnap attempt that left everyone shocked.
On Tuesday, a group of baboons tried to snatch a 5-year-old who was enjoying a day out with his family at the kingdom's Raghdan forest, located in Al Bahah city.
According to Sabq news site, the monkey attack left people at the scene "terrified" and "hysterical." Speaking to the media outlet, a man who witnessed the incident described the chaotic situation, saying:
"I was shocked to hear women screaming in the area. When I went to check on what was happening, I saw a monkey attacking a little child and trying to snatch him away. His mother was in complete shock."
In a bid to free the child, the man and a group of friends threw rocks at the animal until it eventually let go of the kid, who was left traumatized.
In the wake of the incident, hundreds of people who frequently spend time in the forest area called on Al Bahah authorities to take action in a bid to protect people from similar attacks. Many also asked officials to try and control the growing population of monkeys who live in the area.
Soon after news of the incident was reported, it made the rounds on the kingdom's Twitter. Some shared footage of similar monkey attacks they've witnessed in the area, others just couldn't even with the entire thing.
Monkey attacks aren't new to the area
"Not unusual for Raghdan's monkeys"
"They attacked my younger brother and bit him all over his body. Thank God we were close to where he was at the time or else he wouldn't have made it."
Of course, some Saudis had to make a joke out of this
"He wants to make him the Tarzan of Al Bahah."
Others didn't make light of the situation
"This could happen again... people must take precautions."
Monkey trouble is real in the kingdom
Earlier this year, footage of monkeys attacking the University of Bisha's all-female college building >went viral on social media. In it, the animals can be seen chasing students and looking for food in bags scattered in an outdoor area. The attack wasn't a first of its kind, because the same campus had been attacked by the creatures> time and again.
If you thought Bisha was the only city suffering from similar attacks, you're wrong.
In 2017, a video capturing a >group of monkeys crossing one of the kingdom's highways went viral on Twitter. In it, the animals can be seen running across a highway that tweeps later identified as a road between Mecca and Medina. It apparently happens quite often in this area, too.