The Monkeys Youtube Bali

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Sueann

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Aug 5, 2024, 1:00:44 AM8/5/24

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BaliMonkeys, more formally named the Long-Tailed Macaques, are a breed of monkeys found in Bali. Tourists often pull out their cameras to capture a picture of these adorable creatures. However, despite their cuteness, they can also be quite aggressive. Therefore, this guide aims to provide information on where to find the monkeys and how to have a positive experience when encountering them

The Bali Monkeys are a species of Macaque monkey found throughout Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, India, the arid mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as the temperate mountains of Japan, northern China, Morocco, and Nepal. The Macaque monkey is known by various different names in each country.

The Macaque exhibits different behavioral characteristics in each country. For example, during my travels in Cambodia, Thailand, and Indonesia, I found them to be the most aggressive towards humans in Bali. While I am unsure if this is a fact, it was my personal experience.

Bali Monkeys often reside in social groups that consist of three to 20 females, their offspring, and at least one male. As a result, tourists may encounter more than one monkey at a time. These monkeys are often found near beaches, searching for crabs to eat, or in forests. They tend to sleep at night and are most active during the day.

This is such good information!! While I was there, I had a glitter holder for my hand sanitizer on the outside of my purse and a large monkey came after me for it! I had to put it inside the bag quickly so it would not attack me! I was also told before I went to not smile at them (or tease them) because this is an act of aggression!

OMG! This guide is essential for visiting Bali! I had no idea how aggressive these monkeys were until one tried to bite me in Malaysia! In the Ubud monkey forest in Bali they stole my sunglasses and we saw a group attack a man for trying to take a photo with one! Soo scary!

I saw all the moss covered statues in the jungle, and the pictures of people posing with monkeys in Ubud, and it looked really fun to me. Opinions of the monkey forest are all over the place. Some love it, some hate it.

The staff can use a snack to lure the monkeys onto your shoulder, and they can even do funny trick photos for you where it looks like the monkey is holding your phone and taking a selfie photo with you. You can see the pic above for an example.

The monkeys in Ubud (and at Sangeh) have been studied and tested by scientists from the US and Australia every year, and given a clean bill of health for decades now. In 2023, the Bali authorities even started mass vaccinating the monkeys for rabies as a precaution.

On internet forums there is a lot of worrying and hand wringing about rabies and other viruses, and some of the concern is understandable, but the simple fact is that these viruses have thankfully NEVER been contracted at any Bali monkey forest.

This entrance ticket lets you explore the whole Bali monkey sanctuary for as long as you like, including some of the old temples, statues, bridges, and a quiet cemetery that holds some of the Balinese locals from the nearby village.

As soon as we entered the Monkey Forest gate, I felt that something was different. Espen and I have been there two times before, but this time, there were a lot fewer people in the forest, and the monkeys seemed somewhat restless. Since it was off-season, maybe they had not been fed as much food and bananas as usual? They appeared to be a lot more eager to approach people.

It looked pretty fun and peaceful, so my brother and his girlfriend decided they wanted to try it too. But just as they were talking about it standing with their last banana in their hand, a huge monkey all of a sudden jumped on her back! The monkey climbed on top of her head and clung to her back while reaching for the banana. It all went so fast, and we all kind of panicked a little (ok, a LOT!). The monkey scratched her nose and lip, so she started bleeding before it finally jumped off when my brother threw the banana on the ground.

Apparently, there are a record number of monkey bites occurring daily. In the worst cases, an animal bite can lead to rabies or other diseases. Luckily for us, my brothers girlfriend did not get bit, just scratched. We immediately went over to the emergency house in the forest, where she got some antiseptic on her bleeding wounds.

After that dramatic monkey-banana-attacking episode, we were all a bit shaken. The monkeys were not quite as cute and adorable anymore. But being Vikings and (still!) monkey-loving people, we continued into the forest, to have a look at the three monkey temples that are inside. The temples are beautifully decorated with statues and ornaments and overrun with monkeys. It all has a very cool Indiana Jones feel to it!

This monkey was quite bright, and it was evident that he had done this before, as he immediately unscrewed the cap and started drinking from the bottle. But his water joy did unfortunately not last for long, as a big monkey jumped at him, grabbed the water bottle and emptied it in front of his eyes. Such a mean monkey! The first thirsty monkey just has to sit there and watch him pour out the bottle. Poor little monkey.

As we were walking towards the exit gate, a small monkey all of a sudden tried to jump up on my brother! My brother managed to shake him off but lost his flip-flop sandals in the process. We attempted to get the flip-flop back, but the monkey just growled at us and started running with it in his mouth.

We finally managed to get hold of a guard, that luckily took control of the situation, and my brother got his chewed up flip-flops back. The guard asked him if he had anything in his pocket, he answered no but then suddenly realised that he had a small pack of tic tac (small mints) in his pocket! OMG! So that`s the reason why the monkeys had all of a sudden attacked him! My brother had completely forgotten about the small tic tac pack in his pocket. He gave the tic-tacs to the guard, and we all walked quietly out of the park. This time the monkeys left us alone.

3. Do NOT have ANY food or candy in your pockets, handbag or backpack. The monkeys have an extremely well-developed sense of smell, and they will smell everything from a tiny bit of chocolate to a package of chewing gum. You can`t hide any food or candy from the monkeys, they will find it.

We stayed at Ubud Inn Resort and Villas, which is a real authentic Bali style resort with many small houses with rooms scattered around a big and stunning garden with a pool. It is perfectly located in the main street of Ubud, close to shops, restaurants and Monkey Forest. Although it is located centrally, it is tucked away in a peaceful garden so there is no noise. We really liked it! They also have different kinds of rooms, from cheap rooms with a fan to more luxury style suites.