With Lack of Visitors, Bali Monkeys Raid Homes of Villagers
2021-09-12
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1Hungry monkeys on the island of Bali, Indonesia are now raiding the homes of local villagers in their search for something tasty.
2The creatures can no longer depend on visitors to provide their favorite foods, including bananas, peanuts, and other treats.
3The visitors have stopped coming because of the coronavirus crisis.
4Villagers in Sangeh say the gray monkeys, known as long-tailed macaques, have been leaving their protected area that is about 500 meters away.
5The creatures position themselves on top of homes and wait for the right time to come down and get food.
6Villagers are concerned that the visits could turn into a large monkey invasion.
7So they have been taking fruit, peanuts and other food to the Sangeh Monkey Forest to try to keep the monkeys happy.
8Villager Saskara Gustu Alit told The Associated Press, "We are afraid that the hungry monkeys will turn wild and vicious."
9Vicious is a term that means very violent and cruel.
10About 600 of the monkeys live in the protected forest area, swinging from the tall trees and moving around the area near the famous Pura Bukit Sari temple.
11In normal times, the protected jungle area of the Indonesian island is popular with local people as well as international visitors.
12The relatively calm monkeys can be easily persuaded to sit with a person for a peanut or two.
13Tourism is the main source of money for Bali's 4 million people.
14The island welcomed more than 5 million foreign visitors every year before the coronavirus crisis.
15The Sangeh Monkey Forest usually had about 6,000 visitors a month.
16But as the pandemic spread last year and international travel decreased, that number dropped to about 500.
17Since July, there have been no visitors.
18The government banned foreign travelers to the island and closed the monkeys' area to local residents as well.
19Made Mohon is the operations manager for the protected area.
20He said the restrictions have not only resulted in less food being brought to the monkeys,
21but also reduced the amount of admission money from visitors.
22The drop in admissions has made it difficult to buy enough food for the creatures.
23Gifts from villagers have helped, but locals are also feeling the economic difficulties and are giving less and less, he added.
24Made Mohon described the coronavirus crisis as being "beyond our expectations."
25He added, "Food for monkeys has become a problem."
26Food costs run about $60 a day, Made Mohon said, for 200 kilograms of cassava and 10 kilograms of bananas.
27The macaque can eat a number of animals and plants found in the jungle.
28But those in the Sangeh Monkey Forest have had so much contact with humans over the years that they are now used to other things.
29Gustu Alit said the monkeys are not afraid to take matters into their own hands.
30Normally, they spend all day with visitors - stealing sunglasses and water bottles, pulling at clothes, jumping on shoulders.
31But Gustu Alit said the monkeys are now hungry and bored, which could result in problems for the village.
32"That's why I have urged villagers here to come to the forest to play with the monkeys and offer them food," he said.
33"I think they need to interact with humans as often as possible so that they do not go wild."
34I'm John Russell.
1Hungry monkeys on the island of Bali, Indonesia are now raiding the homes of local villagers in their search for something tasty. 2The creatures can no longer depend on visitors to provide their favorite foods, including bananas, peanuts, and other treats. The visitors have stopped coming because of the coronavirus crisis. 3Villagers in Sangeh say the gray monkeys, known as long-tailed macaques, have been leaving their protected area that is about 500 meters away. The creatures position themselves on top of homes and wait for the right time to come down and get food. 4Villagers are concerned that the visits could turn into a large monkey invasion. So they have been taking fruit, peanuts and other food to the Sangeh Monkey Forest to try to keep the monkeys happy. 5Villager Saskara Gustu Alit told The Associated Press, "We are afraid that the hungry monkeys will turn wild and vicious." 6Vicious is a term that means very violent and cruel. 7About 600 of the monkeys live in the protected forest area, swinging from the tall trees and moving around the area near the famous Pura Bukit Sari temple. 8In normal times, the protected jungle area of the Indonesian island is popular with local people as well as international visitors. The relatively calm monkeys can be easily persuaded to sit with a person for a peanut or two. 9Tourism is the main source of money for Bali's 4 million people. The island welcomed more than 5 million foreign visitors every year before the coronavirus crisis. 10The Sangeh Monkey Forest usually had about 6,000 visitors a month. But as the pandemic spread last year and international travel decreased, that number dropped to about 500. 11Since July, there have been no visitors. The government banned foreign travelers to the island and closed the monkeys' area to local residents as well. 12Made Mohon is the operations manager for the protected area. 13He said the restrictions have not only resulted in less food being brought to the monkeys, but also reduced the amount of admission money from visitors. The drop in admissions has made it difficult to buy enough food for the creatures. 14Gifts from villagers have helped, but locals are also feeling the economic difficulties and are giving less and less, he added. 15Made Mohon described the coronavirus crisis as being "beyond our expectations." He added, "Food for monkeys has become a problem." 16Food costs run about $60 a day, Made Mohon said, for 200 kilograms of cassava and 10 kilograms of bananas. 17The macaque can eat a number of animals and plants found in the jungle. But those in the Sangeh Monkey Forest have had so much contact with humans over the years that they are now used to other things. 18Gustu Alit said the monkeys are not afraid to take matters into their own hands. Normally, they spend all day with visitors - stealing sunglasses and water bottles, pulling at clothes, jumping on shoulders. But Gustu Alit said the monkeys are now hungry and bored, which could result in problems for the village. 19"That's why I have urged villagers here to come to the forest to play with the monkeys and offer them food," he said. "I think they need to interact with humans as often as possible so that they do not go wild." 20I'm John Russell. 21Firdia Lisnawati and Niniek Karmini reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor. 22________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24swing - v. to move backward and forward or from side to side while hanging from something 25jungle - n. an area of land, usually in tropical countries, where trees and plants go close together 26tourism - n. the activity of traveling to a place for pleasure 27admission - n. the cost of entering a theater, sports stadium, museum, etc 28bored - adj. feeling tired and annoyed, or uninterested 29interact - v. to talk or do things with other people