A troop of "agitated" baboons attacked a group of seven hikers in the Banhoek mountains of South Africa's Western Cape. The hikers had stopped for a bite when they spotted the big baboons observing them from a cliff above. A bit later on, the baboons apparently rolled a huge boulder down on the hikers where it shattered, launching "razor-sharp rock" that broke the legs of three of the people and injured others. The monkeys continued their siege by tossing rocks at the hikers who eventually called for emergency aid. Wilderness Search And Rescue quickly responded to shuttle the hurt hikers to a hospital.
From the NY Post:
Unfortunately, the primate-triggered rock slide was far from over: The mad monkeys allegedly continued to rain stones down on the hikers like something out of a medieval siege, forcing them to seek shelter in the cliff face.
Despite their remote location, the hikers managed to make an SOS call. An Air Mercy Service helicopter and a team from the Wilderness Search And Rescue (WSAR) were mobilized.
Upon arrival, the team used winches to lower paramedics unto the ledge where the climbers were huddled. The most seriously-injured hiker was then "packed into a stretcher and flown to a nearby landing zone," while "the remaining two patients were hoisted from the ledge in rescue harnesses."
