Bali monkeys raid homes for food after lack of tourists and their treats

Bali monkeys are raiding people’s homes for food after not receiving the normal amount of treats from tourists due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Macaque monkeys have begun hanging on residents’ roofs and waiting for the opportunity to strike as they have been missing out on the bananas and peanuts normally provided to them by tourists, The Associated Press reported.

The Sangeh Monkey Forest sanctuary, located close to the villagers, is home to 600 monkeys who normally get plenty of food from the 6,000 visitors a month; however, pandemic travel restrictions have proven detrimental to Bali’s tourism industry with the monkeys only seeing 500 visitors per month.

Although the monkeys are normally tame, villagers are concerned they could turn vicious due to the lack of food, according to the AP.

“We are afraid that the hungry monkeys will turn wild and vicious,” villager Saskara Gustu Alit said.

The sanctuary has also had to give less food to the animals due to decreased funds from the lack of tourists, according to Made Mohon, operations manager for the sanctuary.

“This prolonged pandemic is beyond our expectations,” Mohon said. “Food for monkeys has become a problem.”

The villagers are now taking food to the monkeys in the forest in hopes that the animals stop trying to go into homes.