Africa/Middle East Discussion Forum

Discussions regarding holidays in Africa/Middle East inc.Dubai
cheeky monkeys
15 Posts
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I know that in Malaysia they are treated as pests and there are times when people are encouraged to shoot them. I think they get money for each dead monkey( but I might be wrong!) We were in botanical gardens where there were signs up warning of big fines if anyone was caught feeding the monkeys there.
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I did have an incident in Taman Negara in Malaysia. On returning to our bungalow we found the path blocked by a troop of monkeys. They were being agressive baring their teeth at us. As there was about 30 of them discretion being the better part of valour we returned to the hotel lobby and waited for them to move on. People in the bungalow next door found them in their bedroom - one using the hairbrush, In another hotel on Pangkor we were told not to maintain eye contact with them as this was construed as a challange by the macaques.

While in Borneo we had a macaque try to run off with my back pack which had a picnic in it. In Kenya I have seen them running through the hotel restaurants
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Has anyone thought that this could be down to previous guests actually holding out or throwing pieces of food for them to eat, which has made them associate humans with food.
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I saw the programme

It was Package Holidays Uncovered, on yesterday on ITV2, it was Kenya, Mombassa and the monkeys were all up about the place. There were more monkeys than hotel guests.

The owner was saying he wanted to get dogs because the monkeys are afraid of them. The staff were using sling shots to get the monkeys.

These monkeys were stealing food from tables, from people's hands and walking into the hotel rooms like they owned the place.
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Hiya. Does anyone know what hotel the programme about the monkeys was about? Are they not friendly?
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The hotels in question were the African Safari Club hotels in Shanzu Beach (Coral/Palm, Shanzu, Paradise Beach & Flamingo). We stayed there last October, and indeed there are a lot of monkeys around the place. I have to say, though, that I only ever saw one in the dining room, and that legged it pretty quick when one of the staff went near it (no catapult!). There are notices allover asking people not to feed the monkeys, but of course most people ignore these, feed the monkeys, take their photos and then wonder why the monkeys keep coming back. I know people who left fruit on their balconies for a few days, until they got tired of watching the monkeys and stopped, but the monkeys kept coming back - I wonder why?
Another problem was people buuying fruit cocktail drinks from the pool bar, then leaving the glasses (half filled with fruit) lying around the ground - the monkeys then not surprisingly, took the glasses and ate the fruit. Small wonder they were lifting anything they could find!
The monkeys wouldn't be a problem if people did what they were asked, and didn't feed them in the first place.
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I think my kids would terrify the monkeys.lol!!
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I think some people seem to forget that the Monkeys were there way before the hotel was built.

Rachael x
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I know that it is awful in a way, but i adore monkeys and would have loved to have seen this, it sounds quite hilarious but i can imagine how it must have been for people :)
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When my fiance and i were in Malaysia we got mugged by a big family of monkeys! My fiance had her bag snathe. Not nice at the time but kinda amusing now!
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Hope i get to see a monkey or two up close. Just dont want them snatching food or personal items from me!

:D
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:D In Gambia, Lamin Lodge to be precise the monkeys are infamous for stealing drinks, food, and bags etc off the tables, basically if it's not nailed down they will take it!! Personally it just wasn't a problem for me I'm quite happy to share my meal with a monkey but I must admit their manners left something to be desired..........................not 1 of them said thanks!!
To be fair the owners have put signs up discouraging customers from feeding them but to be quite honest clapping your hands or making any sudden movement was enough to keep them at bay, however my partner did have a tug of war with 1 over a bag, my partner won but as a parting gesture it bared it's teeth then stuck it's tongue at him before running off to join some other tourist for lunch :lol:
It's all part of the holiday in my opinion. :D
Cheers
Scruffyish
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lol leave my friends alone :lol:
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We have had problems in Mombassa and whilst on safari.
At the Samburu lodge they have to chase them away with catapults because they pinch the drinks but worst was actually on a game drive. We went to the hippo pool on the Massai for a picnic but our guide stopped us from getting out of the car because he heard monkeys. Another couple in a landrover stopped, got out and put their lunch box on the bonnet - that was the last they saw of it - moneys ran across the track and took the whole thing within seconds.
Worse - one monkey jumped in our safari van through the window and grabbed my mates bag - she went for it and got bitten. What it was after was some sweets she had in the bag and not the bag itself.

In the Ngorongoro Crater it's the birds - they have plagued people so badly that you can't have picnics there either.
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