Hungry Bali monkeys who normally get fed by tourists are taking matters into their own hands and raiding villages
AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati
- Monkeys normally dependent on tourist handouts in Bali are raiding people's homes for food.
- The hungry creatures have some residents worried, the Associated Press reported.
- Indonesia banned all foreign visitors in July due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Bali's hungry monkeys, normally dependent on the snacks brought by tourists now kept away because of the pandemic, are raiding the homes of locals for food, the Associated Press reported on Friday.
Villagers in Sangeh, on the Indonesian resort island, said the animals have been moving from their sanctuary, the Sangeh Monkey Forest, to the roofs of homes, waiting to snatch a quick bite from inside, the report said.
"We are afraid that the hungry monkeys will turn wild and vicious," one villager, Saskara Gustu Alit, told the AP.
Tourism is the main source of income for Bali's residents, the report said, but in July Indonesia banned all foreign travelers to the island.
Normally, the protected forest is a popular travel destination and home to about 600 monkeys.
"This prolonged pandemic is beyond our expectations," Made Mohon, the sanctuary's operations manager, told the AP. "Food for monkeys has become a problem."