Going bananas
Bali sanctuary monkeys desperate for food as COVID keeps generous visitors away
They’ll work for peanuts.
With tourism at a virtual standstill, gray long-tailed macaques in Bali have had to find snacks elsewhere, which has led many of them to leave their sanctuary and head into the village of Sangeh for food.
Prior to the pandemic, the 600 or so inhabitants of the Sangeh Monkey Forest could count on 6,000 visitors a month to bring them bananas, peanuts and other treats throughout the day. But as the Indonesian island copes with the COVID pandemic, that number dropped to about 500 visitors monthly. In July, the sanctuary was closed to visitors altogether.
The primates have begun making the 500-yard trek into town, where they’ve become comfortable hanging out on rooftops and swooping down on food. Concerned the macaques, which are considered sacred, could become aggressive, locals are taking fruit and nuts to the sanctuary hoping it will inspire the animals to stay home.
“We are afraid that the hungry monkeys will turn wild and vicious,” one villager told The Associated Press.
The Sangeh Monkey Forest features tall nutmeg trees as well as the famous Pura Bukit Sari temple, where humans and monkeys alike gather under normal circumstances. Tourists frequently engage the usually sated animals who call the sanctuary home. The monkeys are easily lured with treats.
More than 5 million international visitors visited Bali annually prior to the pandemic.
Tourism is the primary industry for the island’s 4 million residents.
It’s not just the macaques who could use a little bread. A lack of tourism means no income for the sanctuary, according to its operations manager Made Mohon.
“This prolonged pandemic is beyond our expectations,” he said. “Food for monkeys has become a problem.”
He says feeding the macaques their usual diet of cassava and bananas costs around $60 per day. The monkeys are omnivores, but have become accustomed to what tourists give them. Mohon said he recently experienced mischievous macaques behaving in a proactive manner when he brought flowers and food as offerings at a religious event, a pair of monkeys grabbed the goods and dashed into a forest.
Mohon says that in addition to missing the food the sanctuary’s visitors used to bring, he thinks the playful primates miss monkeying around with the guests.
“That’s why I have urged villagers here to come to the forest to play with the monkeys and offer them food,” he said.
When the monkeys socialize with humans, Mohon says, it may be a good thing for all involved. The sanctuary’s website features photos of macaques sitting on people’s laps and shoulders. They’re known to steal sunglasses and water bottles and tug at visitors’ clothing. Ecology Asia says longtailed macaques can weigh up to roughly 15 pounds.
“I think they need to interact with humans as often as possible so that they do not go wild,” Mohon said.