Hungry Bali monkeys raid homes

Hungry Bali monkeys raid homes, without tourists handing out food.

Sadly, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has even managed to hit monkeys in Bali. The monkeys normally see visitors everyday who bring food and like to pose for photos and keep the monkeys amused.

The monkeys have begun to raid local homes to find food as international visitors have now been banned due to the pandemic. Around 600 macaques live in the forest sanctuary which is home to the famous Pura Bukit Sari temple. The monkeys are now having to leave their protected sanctuary and hunt for their own food.

Saskara Gustu Alit, a local villager said: “We are afraid that the hungry monkeys will turn wild and vicious.”

Sadly, in July Indonesia put rules in place to prevent foreign travellers visiting and it also closed the sanctuary to locals. This meant that the monkeys have been left alone with no humans to play with, or to feed them extra treats.

This has also hit the sanctuary hard as they normally make money from admission fees and use this to buy food for the monkeys.

Operations manager Made Mohon said: “This prolonged pandemic is beyond our expectations,”

“Food for monkeys has become a problem,”

“A few days ago I attended a traditional ceremony at a temple near the Sangeh forest,”

“When I parked my car and took out two plastic bags containing food and flowers as offerings, two monkeys suddenly appeared and grabbed it all and ran into the forest very fast.”

Gustu Alit believes that the monkeys are just bored though as they are missing their normal visitors.

“That’s why I have urged villagers here to come to the forest to play with the monkeys and offer them food,” he said.

“I think they need to interact with humans as often as possible so that they do not go wild.”

Thank you for reading, and don’t forget to check The Euro Weekly News for all your up-to-date local and international news stories.