What you need to know to avoid injuries from wild monkeys in Thailand.
Those cute little monkeys that hang out in heavily touristed areas of Thailand are dangerous!
Macaques
Thailand is home to many different species of primates but the most common monkey you’ll see when visiting is a macaques (pronounced “ma kak”), a small, grey or grey-brown animal that usually hangs out in trees or other foliage. The average Thai macaque is around two feet high and about 15 pounds but just because they are small it doesn’t mean they can’t harm you.
In fact, macaques in Thailand can be very aggressive. According to a recent news report, about 600 people were treated after monkey attacks last year at Phi Phi island hospital alone. Authorities have even put up signs warning people to beware, but it doesn’t seem to stop incidents from happening.
Don't Feed the Animals!
In some tourist areas, including during group tour visits to Koh Phi Phi’s Maya Bay and Monkey Beach, visitors are encouraged to feed these animals peanuts, bananas or other snacks, and the macaques are so used to getting food from humans that they will frequently snatch it out of people’s hands, grab for it or otherwise act aggressive when it isn’t forthcoming. People who turn away (often in fear) or try to stop them from taking food are sometimes scratched or bitten. The sad part of it is that these monkeys have been acclimated by tourists and tour guides who think it’s cute and fun to hand feed wild animals. If your tour guide gives you bananas for the monkeys, you don’t have to participate.
It’s just as fun to watch the monkeys from a distance. If you do decide to feed the macaques, DO NOT let small children interact with them and throw the food towards them instead of waiting for them to take it out of your hand.
Don't Touch Them, Either!
Another way tourists run into trouble with these monkeys is by trying to touch or pet baby macaques. These primates are very protective of their young. DO NOT approach or try to touch a young monkey and especially do not approach a mother monkey with a nursing baby. Macaques are social creatures and come to the defense of each other. If you are bitten or scratched, you need to get a tetanus shot and have your wound cleaned.
More Monkey Horror Stories
It’s not just Thai macaques that are responsible for all the mischief. In Ubud, Bali’s Monkey Forest, macaques are know to steal from tourists all the time, and though losing your sunglasses may seem like a fun memory, plenty of tourists leave Indonesia having also visited a health clinic after an attack. And in Delhi, India, a pack of monkeys attacked the city’s deputy mayor in 2007. As he was trying to fight them off, he fell from his balcony and later died of his injuries.
Macaques
Thailand is home to many different species of primates but the most common monkey you’ll see when visiting is a macaques (pronounced “ma kak”), a small, grey or grey-brown animal that usually hangs out in trees or other foliage. The average Thai macaque is around two feet high and about 15 pounds but just because they are small it doesn’t mean they can’t harm you.
In fact, macaques in Thailand can be very aggressive. According to a recent news report, about 600 people were treated after monkey attacks last year at Phi Phi island hospital alone. Authorities have even put up signs warning people to beware, but it doesn’t seem to stop incidents from happening.
Don't Feed the Animals!
In some tourist areas, including during group tour visits to Koh Phi Phi’s Maya Bay and Monkey Beach, visitors are encouraged to feed these animals peanuts, bananas or other snacks, and the macaques are so used to getting food from humans that they will frequently snatch it out of people’s hands, grab for it or otherwise act aggressive when it isn’t forthcoming. People who turn away (often in fear) or try to stop them from taking food are sometimes scratched or bitten. The sad part of it is that these monkeys have been acclimated by tourists and tour guides who think it’s cute and fun to hand feed wild animals. If your tour guide gives you bananas for the monkeys, you don’t have to participate.
It’s just as fun to watch the monkeys from a distance. If you do decide to feed the macaques, DO NOT let small children interact with them and throw the food towards them instead of waiting for them to take it out of your hand.
Don't Touch Them, Either!
Another way tourists run into trouble with these monkeys is by trying to touch or pet baby macaques. These primates are very protective of their young. DO NOT approach or try to touch a young monkey and especially do not approach a mother monkey with a nursing baby. Macaques are social creatures and come to the defense of each other. If you are bitten or scratched, you need to get a tetanus shot and have your wound cleaned.
More Monkey Horror Stories
It’s not just Thai macaques that are responsible for all the mischief. In Ubud, Bali’s Monkey Forest, macaques are know to steal from tourists all the time, and though losing your sunglasses may seem like a fun memory, plenty of tourists leave Indonesia having also visited a health clinic after an attack. And in Delhi, India, a pack of monkeys attacked the city’s deputy mayor in 2007. As he was trying to fight them off, he fell from his balcony and later died of his injuries.
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