Monkey-ing around
I was in Nha Trang and really wanted to visit Monkey Island so I went on a day tour as it was the only way to get there. The trip included a visit to four different islands and it was such a fab day, I got to feed Emu’s and Deer and saw loads of other animals and beautiful sights – except for the actual Monkey Island itself as they had a bear that was made to do tricks – In the UK I donate to WSPA to help stop stuff happening to bears so I was almost in tears.
The bear was made to stand on two legs instead of four, which had obviously caused him a lot of pain; his back bent inwards and outwards in three different places, so he looked much worse than the Hunchback of Notre dame. My sister thought it was a man in a suit at first as it was hard to tell that it was actually a bear (OK, not so much that it looked like a man in a suit as it visibly had bear paws). He was a smart bear though as he could ride a bicycle and a motorbike! I’m serious! I can’t even drive a motorbike, I tried but I veered off in to bush! He was traumatized and had given up all hope so I reported him to WSPA who said they would help him. Monkeys were also made to do tricks but at least they had a bit of fight left in them, one monkey bit the man and another one ran away! The dogs loved it though, all wagging their tales ecstatically, keen to show off all their tricks.
We were also got to feed wild monkeys – not sure how wild they were but they looked like they were free. My sister was holding a bag of corn and feeding the monkeys, most of which were very polite, but then a monkey jumped at her out of nowhere and bit her hand to grab the bag of corn then ran off with it. We hadn’t had the rabies jab but the tour guide said it wasn’t a problem and she didn’t die during the night so we though it was fine – until we met someone later in Thailand who had the same thing happen and the doctor told him that some people don’t show symptoms until 12 weeks later! I kept a look out for signs over the following three months, like sensitivity to lights and aversions to water but luckily she was fine!
http://www.worldtravelerjournal.com/borneo-orangutans-and-two-different-human-cultures/
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