Bali: Monkeys raid village in search of food as number of tourists who fed them drops

After the challenges that COVID threw to the world, even animals have faced the repurcussions of the pandemic. Recently, it has come to light that monkeys in Bali have started raiding villagers' homes in a desperate search for food. Since the monkeys have no access to their preferred food sources, such as bananas, peanuts, and other food items brought in by tourists who are restricted to curb spread of the novel Coronavirus, the monkeys have been venturing into a snatching business, said the villagers.

Bali monkeys raid village homes in search of food

Due to COVID restrictions, the number of tourists visiting the location has dramatically fallen, causing the monkeys to raid the villages. The locals of Sageh village have expressed concern over the issue, and it has been observed that money these days monkeys are hanging out on their house roofs in an attempt to swoop down and snatch anything they get. To avoid a major raid in the village, people have voluntarily started taking fruit, peanuts, and other food items to the Sangeh Monkey Forest to prevent them venturing into the village.

As many as 600 wild monkeys live in the forest sanctuary, swinging near the trees of the famous Pura Bukit Sari temple. The monkeys near the temple area are considered as scared and the jungle is most often used by the locals for wedding photoshoots, as well as by international visitors. Many times, the monkeys are easily coaxed to sit on a lap or shoulder in return for a banana or a snack. It is important to mention here that the Sangeh Monkey Forest used to have about 6000 tourists a month, but due to the pandemic, the number has dropped to 500.

Pandemic is the cause of monkey raid in Bali

Earlier, in July, when Indonesia had imposed restrictions on air travel and tourists, the sanctuary temporarily closed. The monkeys were deprived of food and, moreover, the temple has also witnessed low donations, making it difficult for the temple management to buy food. The villagers, however, have helped the temple by providing some donations, but due to the economic situation, they are also unable to give more. Temple's operations manager, Made Mohon, said the food costs run about Rs 850,000 ($60) a day. Since the monkey of the Sangeh Forest has been in contact with humans for centuries, they have mostly relied on food provided by humans rather than finding it in the forest. The monkeys are not afraid of anything and can cross any limit in search of food, many times they have broken the tiles of the houses in an attempt to jump down, said Mohon.

(IMAGE: AP)

(With Inputs from AP)