A baby in Malaysia has died after being snatched¹ from home by a monkey which bit then dropped her from the roof.

马来西亚一个婴儿在家中被一只猴子抱走、啃咬并从屋顶被丢下致死。

Macaque monkeys can become aggressive when in search of food or mates

The four-day-old girl was sleeping in the living room of her home in the central Malaysian state of Negri Sembilan when a macaque（猕猴） monkey entered.

The baby had been briefly² left alone. Wildlife officials said the monkey was probably in search of food.

Wildlife officials said it was the first case of an attack by wild monkeys on a human in the state.

Alarmed

The mother, 26-year-old V Revathy, had left the baby to go to the bathroom and the baby's grandfather had gone to get a glass of water.

"We frantically³（疯狂似的） searched all over the house and saw her body covered in blood lying outside the house," the child's grandfather A Valayutham told the Star newspaper.

The baby also had serious bite and scratch marks.

Wildlife and national parks director Ishak Muhamad said his staff had later caught and shot a monkey believed to have been responsible for the attack.

"We suspect the macaque was rummaging⁴（搜查，翻寻） for food inside the house. It could have taken the baby to the roof thinking the newborn was food," he told the daily newspaper.

"The baby died when it fell to the ground. The monkey had apparently⁵ released the newborn, probably because it was alarmed by the parents' shouts," Mr Ishak said.

The area where the family live has many trees where macaque monkeys have made their home.

"She was our bundle of joy and we were looking forward to spending many happy years with her... I just cannot believe she's gone," said baby's father, V Neru, 29, who was not at home when the incident occurred.