Pet monkey bangs Ind. baby's head against cage

LAPORTE, Ind. -- Police in northern Indiana say a pet monkey reached out and banged a 10-month-old girl's head against its cage several times.

Police say the girl was being held during a visit Sunday to the LaPorte home of her mother's aunt and uncle when the caged monkey pulled on the hood of the girl's coat. She was taken to a hospital for treatment of a rope burn to her neck from a drawstring and red marks on the back of her head.

Primate handler Jamie Huss of Michigan City's Washington Park Zoo says monkeys are unpredictable and sometimes attack unprovoked.

LaPorte's animal control officer says Indiana requires no permits for pet monkeys and that she's found the monkey's owners to be responsible.