RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, June 25 (Reuters) - Monkeys don't run wild in the streets of Rio de Janeiro as some foreigners think, but police in Brazil's tourist mecca have been busy catching a human robber who behaved like an ape.
Rio police said on Tuesday they had seized an 18-year-old alleged criminal who attacked his victims, including tourists, by jumping from the trees and had received the nickname "monkey-boy."
The teenager attacked at least 10 people, mainly elderly women, in the Santa Teresa district popular among tourists for its picture-postcard view of the Guanabara bay and the city with its green mountains and beaches.
The sister of one of the victims who spooked the robber once told Globo newspaper the monkey-boy had later returned to take his vengeance and threw an orange at her from the tree, causing a big bruise.
Earlier this year, Rio's tourist board threatened legal action against producers of TV comedy "The Simpsons" for undermining its tourism campaign by an episode of the long-running animated show in which the city was depicted with rats and monkeys teeming on its streets. Producers apologized.
06/25/02 10:02 ET