.:
Prepare
for your trip :.
If
you really want to see monkeys whilst in Bali, then the Ubud Monkey Forest is
probably the safest place to see them. However, it is still wise to take precautions
and follow some simple advice to keep yourself from encountering any problems. There
are around 600 monkeys in the Monkey Forest Ubud and monkeys are well known for
being quick and incredibly smart. The
Ubud macaque monkeys are used to seeing, and interacting with, thousands of tourists
every month and therefore know what to expect of us; that is, we often have food
concealed somewhere, perhaps at the bottom of a backpack, and have interesting
collectibles hanging around our necks or from our ears. Some people may also have
water bottles, camera cases, or be wearing bum bags (or fanny packs as they are
known in the US). The
monkeys will use all this knowledge and their instincts to do all they can to
get what they want. They are clever enough to know that if they steal something
of little value to themselves, but perhaps greatly valuable to you, they can get
you to offer something they really want, like a banana or some other type of food,
in exchange for the return of the item taken. Therefore,
to avoid any unwanted attention, it's probably best to empty your pockets before
you go and travel very light. As
much as the monkeys in Ubud are used to seeing humans in its forest and have lost
their fear of us, these monkeys are still very much wild animals. If
a monkey does try to take something from you, it is very important to try and
avoid any sudden or aggressive altercation. The
park staff advises visitors never to pull back an offer of food to a monkey or
to touch a monkey, as either action can prompt an aggressive response by the animal.
Although they generally ignore humans who they believe do not have food, they
sometimes mistake a human's actions as an offer of food or an attempt to hide
food. If a tourist then either does not provide the food or does not provide it
quickly enough, the monkeys will occasionally bite; in fact, monkeys bite tourists
daily and videos of many of these attacks can be found on YouTube. Monkeys
can perceive prolonged eye contact, staring, or slow movement as a threat. Additionally,
showing your teeth can be interpreted as a display of aggression. The sight of
monkeys running around can easily bring a smile to our faces so it's worth bearing
this in mind if you start to get any unwanted attention. Park
personnel carry slingshots with which to intimidate aggressive monkeys and intervene
quickly in confrontations between monkeys and humans. These
monkeys are known for carrying Herpes B, Hepatitis C, in addition to fleas. There
are even rare cases of rabies from monkey bites. Come prepared before visiting
or be sure to get vaccinated immediately if you are unfortunate enough to get
bitten. Feeding
the monkeys with general food is strictly prohibited for a variety of obvious
reasons, not least because feeding peanuts, chips, or sweet things are harmful
for a macaque's health. Perhaps, again to avoid unwanted attention, it's best
to avoid bringing any food or snacks for human consumption in to the forest. For
those that do want the up close and personal experience, bunches of bananas can
be purchased on site.
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Map of Ubud Monkey Forest :.
Ubud Monkey Forest | map
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