Monkeys flee from Japanese research centre

TOKYO - Over a dozen monkeys used tree branches to catapult themselves over a five-metre-high electric fence to escape to freedom from a research centre in Japan.

The trees were about three metres away from the high-voltage wire fence at Kyoto University’s primate research centre, but the monkeys leaped over the barrier easily, Courier Mail reported citing Japan Times.

“Their jumping power was greater than we thought,” Hirohisa Hirai, deputy head of the institute, was quoted as saying.

However, the monkeys did not to know what to do with their new-found liberty following their great escape. Most of them were found hanging around outside the fence and at least five were lured back inside with peanuts.

The trees were later cut short to prevent any such further incident.