Many may recall from their early school years offering the “tried and true” pseudo-excuse of claiming their dog has eaten their “missing” homework assignment.
That “dog-eared excuse” turned a whole new page and gained some credibility recently when a tourist visiting a sacred Monkey Forest in Bali saw her passport pilfered from her handbag by a marauding monkey only to be mutilated and torn to shreds.
Videos of the incident show the woman aghast and unable to coax the safe return of her official travel document.
Following in the footsteps of countless grammar school students who blamed the family pet for missing homework, we can now anticipate someone in Bali painfully explaining to immigration officials how an errant monkey is to blame for missing and torn pages in her passport.
Following the incident, authorities warn visitors to exercise extra caution when visiting one of Bali’s several monkey forests, such as the Sacred Monkey Forest in Ubud, the Sangeh Monkey Forest, and Uluwatu Temple.
The cheekish cunning of Bali’stemple-dwelling primates is legend, with many stories of tourists losing cameras, jewelry, eyeglasses, and other valuable items snatched by monkeys only to be later retrieved after the monkeys are paid bribes of food.
Tourists are now being advised to carefully secure personal items and keep a safe distance from the “naughty monkeys” when visiting their habitats,
One insurance company, Southern Cross Travel Insurance in Australia, estimates they have received insurance claims for over £8,000 related to Bali monkey thefts and bites.
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