Monkeys steal the valuable items from tourist-incorporation their phones and portfolios-in exchange for food rewards in a popular temple on the KLIF in Bali, Indonesia.
The naughty, long -tailed macaques have been stealing the assets of visitors for decades and holding them ransom to act with people for food, according to primate researchers, The Wall Street Journal reported.
About 600 monkeys live in the Uluwatu temple of Bali, a Hindu temple overlooking the Indian Ocean. Many locals consider the primates as holy guardians of the spiritual place, which dates out of the 10th or 11th century, according to the WSJ.
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Some of the stealing monkeys can even distinguish between objects of high value for people – such as telephones and glasses – and items do not appreciate people much, such as hair clips and hats, the WSJ reported.
Uluwatu temple in Bali, Indonesia on August 14, 2019. About 600 monkeys live in the Hindu temple overlooking the Indian Ocean. (Athanasios Gioumpasis/Getty images)
The primates have “unprecedented economic decision -making processes”, according to a team from the University of Lethbridge that has filmed and analyzed for hundreds of hours of Makaken.
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Many of the theft incidents of Uluwatu require the help of “Pasawang”, Monkey Handlers who offer fruit to the animals in exchange for the stolen goods. The monkeys steal dozens of items from tourists every week, including five to 10 smartphones every day, according to the WSJ, with reference to Monkey Handler Ketut Ariana.
“The monkeys have taken over the temple,” said Jonathan Hammé, a tourist in London whose sunglasses was stolen by a Makaak, on the Wsj. “They run a scam.”
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Taylor Utley, a 36-year-old tourist from Kentucky, said that a monkey stole her phone out of her hand while she visited Uluwatu temple last year. To get it back, a monkey hander had to repeatedly give the primate bags fruit until he dropped the phone from Utley, the WSJ reported.
“I was stunned,” said Utley. “It’s like a criminal company of monkeys.”
In an attempt to stop the thefts, Uluwatu temple has implemented different food schedules for the monkeys and has offered other food. According to the WSJ, however, it did not help, with reference to Kadek Ari Astawa, who coordinates the monkey handlers.
Atsawa said he heard that when the temple opened for visitors for the first time, tourists would sometimes feed the macaques. But as soon as the Temple Management Tourists limited them to feed them, the primates began to steal their possessions, the WSJ reported.
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In November, the inhabitants of a city in South Carolina were advised to close their windows and doors after 43 Resusmakers flakes escaped a test facility.
