PESKY, TROUBLESOME URBAN MONKEYS AND MONKEY ATTACKS

MONKEYS PESTS

In many places monkeys have lost their fear of humans and become real pests. They raid agriculture fields; hassle car drivers; beg for food; and steal it of they get a chance. Monkey at hill station are notorious for swiping clothes and robbing picnic baskets. In some places they even steal eye glasses and wallets. Most are macaques.Most of their time their aggressive poses and teeth-revealing expressions are bluffs meant to intimidate. Male monkeys seem to enjoy harassing women more than men apparently as a way of showing off. Sometimes they bite and sometimes they carry nasty diseases.

Tracie McKinney wrote: Reports of "monkey attacks", "devil monkeys," or even "face-ripping, bone-biting monkeys" have become common in the media. Recent monkey attacks involve a variety of species in different countries. They include the long-tailed macaque and the pig-tailed macaque in Thailand, Japanese macaques in Japan, and Hanuman langurs in India. [Source:Tracie McKinney, University of South Wales, The Conversation, February 2, 2024]

Most of these species are macaques, which are a diverse group of monkeys. But all macaques are sociable, intelligent, relatively large (between 4 kilograms and 9 kilograms, 9 and 20 pounds), and comfortable traveling on the ground. They have a flexible diet, but prefer fruit. They also have cheek pouches that allow them to gather food quickly and carry it to a safe place to eat.

Websites and Resources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; BBC Earth bbcearth.com; A-Z-Animals.com a-z-animals.com; Live Science Animals livescience.com; Animal Info animalinfo.org ; World Wildlife Fund (WWF) worldwildlife.org the world’s largest independent conservation body; National Geographic National Geographic ; Endangered Animals (IUCN Red List of Threatened Species) iucnredlist.org

Urban Monkeys

Monkeys are as common as squirrels in some Asian cities, particularly in India, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. They hang beside roads in the country and squat in the shade in train stations. Most are macaques and many are regarded as pests. They raid trash cans, steal ice cream cones from children, climb around on telephone and electric wires. Sometimes they get electrocuted when they touch frayed electric lines.

The monkeys often use temples as their home base because there they are protected and often fed and pampered. From the temples they radiate out. In the past many lived at temples with nearby forest in which they could retreat but now these temples have been swallowed up by urbanization and the only place they go is into the city.

"Once they get into human habited areas, initially they are shy," one monkey authority told AFP. "At that time people make the mistake of feeding the monkeys. Monkey's being smart, they soon give up their shyness and start demanding food. When they do that people don't take to them anymore. So the monkeys start entering houses, start opening refrigerators and take away food”.

Monkeys like urban areas because they have easy access to shelter, large trees, abundant food and water. In some cities their populations have exploded because the monkeys can get a hold of enough food to support such a large population. In some places the monkey are seriously obese. In other places their population are more stable apparently because their numbers are kept in check by disease and a limited food supply.

Brawling Monkeys in Thailand During the Covid-19 Pandemic

In March 2020, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, Annie Roth wrote in the New York Times: In a video posted last week, a mob of monkeys runs around a city plaza in Thailand. Something gets thrown in the macaques’ midst and they break into a giant brawl. [Source: Annie Roth, New York Times, March 16, 2020]

“This horde of animals lives in Lopburi, home of the country’s Phra Prang Sam Yot monkey temple. The macaques, which are usually fed by tourists visiting the city, are finding a new scarcity because of the coronavirus. And they’re not alone. Large populations of wild animals are sustained almost entirely on treats handed out by tourists in a variety of Asian countries. But over the past few weeks, the flow of tourists has been reduced to a trickle as a result of quarantines, travel restrictions and a general reduction in visitors put in place to stop the spread of the illness.

“Although fights between the macaques of Lopburi are not uncommon, a brawl of the magnitude shown in that video suggests that resources are scarce, said Asmita Sengupta, an ecologist at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment in Bangalore, India, who studies the effects of humans feeding macaques, which remain wild animals even if they live in close quarters with people. “The fall in tourist numbers because of Covid-19 may have indeed brought about a shortage of food supply for them,” she said. That shows that feeding the monkeys “can have detrimental effects. Once they get used to being fed by humans, they become habituated to humans and even display hyper-aggression if they are not given food.” The number of tourists from China, Thailand’s biggest source of tourists, fell 85 percent last month, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. And it isn’t the only country where the steep reduction in visitors could be affecting some wildlife.

This wasn't the first time something like this happened. In November 1998 The Telegraph, reported: “A thousand hungry monkeys have gone on the rampage through houses, shops and restaurants in northern Thailand after the recession-hit district council ran out of funds for their customary food handouts. Villagers have been woken at night by whole families of monkeys turning over their kitchens, while diners have seen their food stolen from their plates. Following a drought, there has been no extra rice for the macaque monkeys, which had grown dependent on regular supplies from villagers. The Rasi Salai council told a delegation of the monkeys' victims that it could not afford to buy extra rice from outside. [Source: Alex Spillius, The Telegraphy Bangkok

Troublesome Monkeys in India

In November 2004, the BBC reported: “Some weeks ago nearly 2,000 marauding monkeys were captured in two towns in the northern hill state of Himachal Pradesh and relocated to forests. Following the success of that operation, forest department officials have now decided to do the same along the 90km-long Kalka-Simla national highway and release them in the wild. [Source: Baldev Chauhan, BBC, November 19, 2004]

"Monkeys have become a nuisance for motorists, mostly tourists. They are also causing large-scale damage to crops along the winding road in Solan and Simla districts through which the highway runs," says state wildlife chief AK Gulati. Experts along with wildlife officials are expected to begin the operation shortly. "According to the latest count, some 2,035 monkeys reside along the Kalka-Simla highway. "Our effort will be to shift as many simians as we can as they are a traffic hazard and sometimes cause accidents," Mr Gulati said.

The move followed an order of the high court after complaints that the monkeys were becoming a menace. Officials say the monkeys attacked anyone carrying food, rummaged through dustbins and littered the place while people looked on helplessly. There have also been growing cases of monkey bites in the state capital, Simla, which is a popular tourist resort.

But the wildlife department's moves have invited the ire of animal lovers. "The method of capturing them in cages and keeping them locked for long periods before releasing them is highly crude and causes a lot of trauma to the animals," says Rajeshwar Singh Negi. "Even if relocation of monkeys helps get rid of them from towns, we have already seen that new troops have entered the town in recent weeks," Mr Negi told the BBC. "Relocation could also help spread diseases caused by monkeys from area to another," he said.

Some people believe that a more effective way of dealing with the menace would be to sterilise the monkeys instead of moving them from place to place. But wildlife officials are nervous about taking that step since such a large-scale sterilisation of monkeys has never been carried out so far. "The final decision regarding sterilisation of monkeys would be taken after an in-depth study of similar operations elsewhere," said Mr Gulati.

"So far we have not got any negative feedback about the relocation of the 1,900 monkeys. But the impact would be seen on a six-monthly census to be carried out next month," said the wildlife chief. The wildlife department also wants the central government to fund a project to check monkey menace in the entire state. The state has spent around 2.1 million rupees ($47,000) so far.

The first ever count of monkeys in Himachal Pradesh was undertaken in December last year. It revealed that the state has 378,860 monkeys. Langurs, the larger black-faced primates number 55,180 with females outnumbering males.

In December 1998, The Telegraph reported: “Several people were injured as a horde of monkeys stormed into Srinagar, the winter capital of Kashmir, and attacked anyone who tried to cross their path. Apparently driven by hunger from the nearby jungle, where temperatures have fallen to freezing point, the monkeys raided restaurants, hotels, fruit and tea shops, houses and government offices in search of food. Shrieking menacingly, they barged into an old royal palace and ransacked it and the adjoining state government offices. J N Sathu, Srinagar [Source: Electronic Telegraph Report of December 28, 1998

In March 1998, Ananova reported: “Indian monkeys are running riot and no-one will complain because of myths surrounding the animals. The town of Noida in Uttar Pradesh is under siege from monkeys who raid fridges, uproot gardens and attack hospitals, pets and people. However, due to the myths associated with the animals, no one wants to make a complaint, according to a local forest ranger. One incident in a hospital saw monkeys chase a patient and attendants out of a room. A security guard had to be called in to scare the monkeys out by banging a large stick on the floor. In another incident, the monkeys pulled a heavy lid off a water tank and let it fall on a car below, severely damaging the vehicle. Some people are said to feed the monkeys just to help keep them at bay, reports the Times of India. "The importance of monkeys in the Indian mythology makes people virtually invite them and offer them food. The monkeys here have almost taken free meals for granted," said forest ranger Bhoodev Panwar. Panwar claims the monkeys even send out scouts to check out possible raids and once they locate one, they bring several other monkeys along. [Source: Ananova, March 6, 2011]

Troublesome Snow Monkeys in Japan

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Snow monkeys sometimes raid farms, eating things like soybeans, watermelons, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, potatoes and mushrooms. Each year snow monkeys destroys about 5,000 hectares of farmland, costing farmers $6 million. The total damage caused by monkeys in 2006 was estimated at ¥1.63 billion.

Some snow monkeys make forays into towns and occasionally trash Shinto Shrines. The snow monkeys around the town Odawara are notorious for sneaking into homes and shops to steal tangerines, sweet potatoes and candy bars. One man told AP, "They came right into my house. My wife tried to scare them with a mop, but they chased her all the way to the train station."

In June 2009, a single monkey cut off power to 7,000 household in Aomori Prefecture. The monkey was found unable to move with burns on its hands and legs at a circuit breaker box. It is believed it received a severe jolt when it touched the box and that caused a short circuit and power failure.

Many researchers blame human forestry for aggressive monkey behavior. The mono forests that cover many areas are void of food, leaving the monkeys with no choice but to look for food in human-occupied areas. Some also say the declining population in villages is a factor as there are fewer people to watch over the farms and prevent monkey raids.

Monkey Thieves

The snow monkeys around the town Odawara in Japan are notorious for sneaking into homes and shops to steal tangerines, sweet potatoes and candy bars. One man told AP, "They came right into my house. My wife tried to scare them with a mop, but they chased her all the way to the train station."

In Nikko and others places with many tourist, monkeys are known for breaking into cars are stealing food. Sometimes they confront people and don’t leave until they have been given a banana or some other such goodies. In Nikko there is one monkey that positions itself in road and leaps on the hood of any car that stops demanding food. Other try to leap through open windows of cars going up to 20mph. Sometimes packs surround tourists and snatch stuff out of their hands. In residential areas, people are afraid to leave the windows of their homes open or let their children walk unescorted to school out of fear of what monkeys might do.

In Gunma Prefecture gangs of monkeys have broken into homes to steal food and attacked children walking to elementary school, running off with their snacks. Monkeys there invaded one home and stole vegetables and threw tiles off the roof.

The New York Times reported: “Rhesus monkeys are also artful dodgers. “There’s a long set of studies showing that the monkeys are very good at stealing from us,” said Laurie R. Santos, an associate professor of psychology at Yale University. Reporting in Animal Behavior, Dr. Santos and her colleagues also showed that, after watching food being placed in two different boxes, one with merrily jingling bells on the lid and the other with bells from which the clappers had been removed, rhesus monkeys preferentially stole from the box with the silenced bells. “We’ve been hard-pressed to come up with an explanation that’s not mentalistic,” Dr. Santos said. “The monkeys have to make a generalization — I can hear these things, so they, the humans, can, too.” [Source: Natalie Angier, New York Times, December 22, 2008]

Over-Habituation — the Main Reason Monkeys Become Aggressive Toward Humans

Tracie McKinney wrote: Regardless of species or location, a major factor in monkey bites and attacks is "over-habituation." Habituation is a process used by animal researchers to gain animals' trust so they can follow and record their behavior, with limited impact of the researchers' presence. But animals can become unintentionally habituated. Squirrels in a city park who have grown accustomed to handouts are one example, but others include urban foxes in the UK, bears in North America, and, in many parts of the tropics, monkeys. [Source: Tracie McKinney, University of South Wales, The Conversation, February 2, 2024]

When animals lose their fear of humans and become a nuisance, they are over-habituated. In nearly all cases of over-habituation, the main factor is human food. What people eat is irresistible to wildlife. It is nutrient-dense, easy to digest and is available in rubbish bins, unattended backpacks, or even directly from people. From an ecological point of view, animals have every incentive to take advantage of this high-quality resource. So, it's no surprise that animals will adjust their fear and natural behaviour accordingly.

While over-habituation due to associating tourists with food is certainly the main driver for the reported monkey attacks, that does not mean that every person bitten or threatened by a monkey is guilty of feeding or teasing them.

Monkeys are very smart, have a long memory and learn from each other. Many groups have grown so accustomed to human foods that they have learned to harass tourists to get it. Some monkeys have become so adept at this that they know which items are valuable to tourists, which they will "trade" for food. In other words, they'll steal your mobile phone but then drop it when you throw them some food.

Another important factor in monkey attacks at tourist sites is an unawareness of the animals' body language, facial expressions and vocalisation. Even highly habituated monkeys will normally give a warning before attacking someone. But people inexperienced with monkey behaviour will often misinterpret a threatening facial expression for a friendly one. This can lead to dangerous encounters.

How to Avoid Monkey Aggression

Agustín Fuentes, chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame, told National Geographic that those engaging in wildlife tourism should never approach or attempt to pet a monkey, even if it doesn't display an aggressive expression. Common human behaviors that denote friendliness, such as smiling and making eye contact, are dangerous gestures that can provoke a monkey. Fuentes noted that in addition to facial expressions, macaques communicate using their body language and how closely they stand next to another individual. If observed in the wild, two friendly macaques will stand near each other and create distance when threatened. "The best thing to do on a wildlife tour is be mellow, hang out, and just watch them," he said.[Source:, Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic, June 2, 2017]

Tracie McKinney wrote: Wildlife tourists cannot be expected to understand every species' typical expressions and body postures. But some things can help tourists be more safe and responsible, regardless of the primate species they are viewing. Do not feed the monkeys. Give them space. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a network of environmental organisations, keeping a distance of seven meters (23 feet) from the animals is recommended. This helps the animals not feel threatened and also reduces the risk of disease transmission. [Source: Tracie McKinney, University of South Wales, The Conversation, February 2, 2024]

Do not stand between the animals and their route to safety, or between adults and young. Avoid direct eye contact or showing your teeth because monkeys may perceive this as aggressive. For many primate species, common threats include bared teeth (including some yawns and smiling with your teeth showing), direct stares with a lowered head, and short lunges or slapping the ground with the hands. If an animal does any of these things, quietly back away.

Study Show People Often Get Monkey Facial Expressions Dangerously Wrong.

Sarah Gibbens wrote in National Geographic: A study from the University of Lincoln found that when humans try to guess the facial expressions of Barbary macaques, they often get them wrong—really wrong. Laëtitia Maréchal, one of the study's authors, attributes this misunderstanding to the human tendency to anthropomorphize animals, or attribute them with human characteristics. Tourists “would see the macaques do what they think is blowing a kiss and try to imitate the interaction," she said. In other words, what the macaques displayed as a warning not to come closer was often perceived as an invitation by people.[Source:, Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic, June 2, 2017 nationalgeographic.com ]

Maréchal tested how easily a macaque's facial expression could be intuited among three different groups of online participants. Photos of macaques were shown to people who had worked with the animals for at least two months, those who were shown 2D images of the monkeys' expressions, and those who had rarely or never encountered live monkeys. They found all participants, regardless of experience, made some mistakes.

Of the mistakes made in correctly guessing what a macaque was attempting to communicate, experts made just under seven percent of the mistakes, participants exposed to 2D images made 20 percent of the mistakes, and novices accounted for 40 percent of the mistakes made. "Aggression displayed by the lips covering their teeth was the most misunderstood," said Maréchal. This was also the expression participants most assumed was the macaque blowing a kiss. She further explained that people tend to be equally bad at reading the facial cues of other primates, such as chimps and orangutans. "If they appear to be 'smiling' that indicates distrust," Maréchal noted. "You can commonly see [chimpanzees] smiling on birthday cards, but that is a face of distress."

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.

Last updated December 2024