I was reading this morning that A 25 year old woman was taken to hospital after being mugged by a monkey for a box of egg tarts at a bus stop in Hong Kong.
The story at The Earth Times says the monkey made its move just after the woman got off a bus for a Sunday picnic. It scratched her arm as it grabbed the box of egg tarts. The shocked woman was taken to hospital and treated for minor injuries.
Apparently Hong Kong’s rural New Territories are home to thousands of monkeys. They usually keep clear of humans, but occasionally, hungry lone males will prey on hikers from the city unused to seeing monkeys and arriving in country parks with bags of food.
It reminds me of an experience in India a few years back.
It was 2005 and while in India we visited the mountain city of Shimla. To get to the main centre of Shimla we needed to park the vehicles that had driven us up the mountain and then take a couple of elevators up to the main part of town.
When we got out of the second lift and entered the road that led to the shopping area, I noticed a number of monkeys climbing over the top of a building. We had seen dozens of monkeys by the side of the road on the way up but now was my opportunity to take a photo or two.
I spied a mother monkey carrying her baby and thought it’d make a cute picture. I was standing several metres away aiming my camera when the mother monkey saw me and made a nasty hissing sound before heading my way.
Before I knew it I had a monkey grabbing at my leg. They can certainly move fast but once that kind of adrenaline kicks in I can move pretty fast too. I took off very quickly and avoided any permanent damage.
You really haven’t lived until you’ve been attacked by a monkey.
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