A famous tool-using chimpanzee has reportedly killed an eight-month-old baby girl which it ripped from her mother's arms.
The heartbreaking attack took place in a cassava field in Bossou, Guinea, in West Africa, according to a report by Daily Mail.
The baby's distraught mother, Seny Zogba, alleges that she was working when the chimp approached her from behind, bit her, and "ripped" her little girl from her arms.
Her baby girl's lifeless body was later discovered around two miles from the Nimba Mountains Nature Reserve.
The violent incident has been blamed on Jeje, a mature Western chimpanzee. Witnesses say the animal may have used his tools to butcher the little girl, who was named Yoh Hélène.
Chief researcher Gen Yamakoshi explained to The Times that the harrowing murder was not a surprise, as the chimps "no longer fear humans".
After news of the death spread, an outraged group of people directed their anger at the scientists who have been studying the animal community for decades.
They brought Yoh's body to their Bossou Environmental Research Institute, and then looted the building, before allegedly destroying supplies such as computers, drones, and over 200 documents, as reported by The Mirror.
Joseph Doré, a member of the angry mob from Bossou, said: "It's the way she was killed, that's what angered the population." Meanwhile, Moussa Koya, another local youth leader, said he understood it was not the "will" of the chimpanzees to act out but that it had become a "habit".
Per reports, the research center documented six chimpanzee attacks on humans within the reserve since the start of the year.
Local ecologist Alidjiou Sylla thinks the lack of food supply in the reserve is the reason why the animals are leaving the area more frequently, and are coming into contact with humans more often.
However, Yamakoshi said it wasn't clear whether the rise in aggression was because of food or "excitement," adding: "It is similar behavior to how chimps treat one another...If they are excited they cannot control their behavior."
There are just seven chimpanzees left in Guinea's Bossou forest, which forms part of the Nimba Mountains Nature Reserve. Their habitat is only a short distance from subsistence farming communities of the Nzerekore Region.
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