destinations

Aug. 2011

Win priZeS
Macaque Macaques know well that tourists carry treats in their backpacks. At Penang National Park in northwest Malaysia, theyll raid your bag and show their little fangs if you try to stop them. Penang National Park Boardwalk

Pushy Primates
a Tale of Malaysian Macaques
ArtiCLe & photos By CoLin roohAn

oing some research for my upcoming trip to Malaysia, i was intrigued when i read about Teluk duyung, Malay for Monkey beach. being an avid nature lover, Monkey beach quickly outranked all other sights on my list.

After a little convincing I talked my wife into visiting Monkey Beach as well. We spent the first couple of days on Penang, an island off the northwest coast of the peninsula, weaving our way through the exotic, bustling streets of Georgetown. We took advantage of our first precipitation-free day and rode a bus out to Penang National Park, where Monkey Beach is located. We grabbed a map and started our two-hour seaside jungle trek. The trail ran parallel to the sea, providing scenic lookouts along the way. A little humid and quite rocky, my wife and I quickly realized that flip-flops were a poor choice of footwear. The hike was going pretty smoothly and the anticipation of reaching Monkey Beach was heightening. In our haste to make it to the beach we failed to notice that we hadnt seen any other hikers. Not a great sign. We pressed on and just as the undulating trail headed deeper into the jungle we heard some abrupt shaking from a low-hanging tree. I am no wilderness savant but running from a wild animal seems counterintuitive, so we froze in our tracks as the unknown

form scurried closer. We were hoping to see a primate, but we were ill prepared for the cantankerous creature that emerged. There we stood face-to-face with a brown macaque. My wife and I sized up the monkey as it stared right back at us. As he crept toward me I tried to recall all the nature specials I had ever watched. unfortunately I never saw anything about macaques. Should I try to make myself look bigger, like a male silverback gorilla? Or simply stay calm and move slowly? I chose the latter. With aplomb the monkey made his way behind me, climbing up my back to get to my bag. He had obviously done this before. I really didnt care to get bitten by a wild monkey at this point (no rabies vaccination), so I cautiously unclipped my pack and slid it off my shoulders toward the ground. We werent too worried about the bag, but the passports, wallets, SLR cameras and iPod touch inside were precious possessions. As the macaque pulled the pack toward him we began to worry. I crouched down and reached for one of the straps only to be halt-

the hike was going pretty smoothly and the anticipation of reaching monkey beach was heightening. in our haste to make it to the beach we failed to notice that we hadnt seen any other hikers. not a great sign.
ed by a mouthful of long, yellow fangs and a hiss that still sends shivers down my back. The macaque unzipped my pack with expert technique and began exploring the bags contents. I made a second move to grab a strap and was again greeted by the intimidating teeth. I backed off. The macaque didnt seem too interested in the cameras or passports, but the brown cover of the iPod and clear plastic baggie it was in must have made it look something like a sandwich. His eyebrows raised and in went the teeth. After he quickly discovered unpalatable plastic he tossed the iPod aside. I began wondering when he would end his raid and then realized I had an unfinished bag of raisins in one of the inner pockets. The macaque gave a final peek inside the pack and eyed the golden raisin wrapper. In the blink of an eye he grabbed the raisins and sprinted up a nearby tree to reap the rewards of his hard work. While we frantically stuffed our belongings back into my pack and sprinted off, the macaque sat overhead smacking and laughing.

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