MON--KEYS to attack?

In another ill-advised moment at Batu Caves,as I decided to climb up the stairs to cave top for prayers, I saw an American guy trying to snap a photo with a monkey. This man actually tried to bring his face closer to the monkey so that his girlfriend can snap a photo. Anyhow,its still a monkey, as soon as the monkey showed it's 4 inch bicuspids that were curving towards his neck, and he immediately made a hasty retreat,and the monkey went after him as the workers there manage to chase the monkey away.

Believe me, I am a frequent visitor to Batu Caves temple and I already witnessed so many of attacks even with the monkeys themselves,fighting each other. Something like watching National Geographic channel Live.. I am aware this place is a religous place and one of the most attractive tourist spot in our country,still I believe there is a need to re-consider again the safety measures,doesnt matter for us or the monkeys.It is acceptable that as long as we dont interupt and disturb them, no harm to us . But sometimes things can rapidly change unexpectedly, as these monkeys wont hesitate to grab all your belongings if they are hungry. For example the can drink coke, eat ice creams, Twisties , snacks and so on. They even throw away people's expensive cameras as soon as it finds out that it was not food. Its not a joke, its true.

You think they are friendly, well think again. In another incident, a friend of mine Suren, we went to temple for a prayer that day, maybe if i am not mistaken, opening ceremony of Lord Perumal's temple. As we were walking around, we saw a monkey staring at us. So, our hero here,my friend really believe that he can shake hands together with that monkey,playfully he get closer and closer,and suddenly this monkey scratched him and ran away as we shouted, to scare the monkey . From what I remember , the monkey just swings it's hand once, towards my friend. And Boom....damage already done by it's sharp nails. He needed more than 18 stiches and 3 days of antibiotic injections. Lucky for him, nothing serious, and sure it was his fault.

Here is another short story, when i was 15 years old, I still remember a lady tourist screaming like hell, when one of the monkeys grabbed her back and her camera,thinking it was food. After realising the camera is not it's favourite item for lunch, it throws and slams the camera into pieces. How we will respond, if this kind of things happens to us? Of course, we can't claim a single cent from these monkeys, and only thing we can do, just walk away...

I know it's their habitat and this is their home,and all of these monkeys really deserve to be here. Well, I am not a person without environmental concern inside me. So,here is some you can do when you encounter unexpected situations and when things get out of control:

1) Don't bring/carry small plastic bags, containers or anything covered/wrapped

2) Don't make the monkey to think that you are carrying eatable items,because they love

bananas and snacks.

3) Don't even try/think to touch the baby monkey( infants)

4) Shout or Clap your hands together as hard as you can if things get worst

5) Grab a stick if the situation gets beyond your control

6) Stay away of them especially when the monkeys fighting each other or you will get

scratches

7) If you see a monkey alone, you can feed it, but if it is with it's troop(cartload), don't try to

feed, otherwise there is 65% of chances you will find yourself in trouble.

Finally, as an additional information,these monkeys are from Macaque monkey's family. In late 90's it was discovered that nearly all (about 90%) captive Macaques are carriers of the Herpes B Virus. This virus is harmless to monkeys but infections of humans,while rare, are potentially fatal.Bites, scratches and exposures to mucous membranes, including the eye , must be cleaned immediately. Samples from the monkey and human should be sent for diagnostic testing as reccomended.

I can accept the fact that monkeys are "holy" and sacred for Hindus just like snakes and cows. We should have some respect to these cartloads, and as Indian we always do. Please be carefull,and extra cautious,especially for those who used to show off in front of their girlfriends, friends or to impress anyone. Dont try to be a hero all the time as you might slide down to zero. My advice, just follow how will a comedian will react to this kind of situations.

This article is to create awareness among people, who still got no idea what these monkeys may up to sometime..so cheers always . Happy New Year.

Thank you.