Ah. I will take a horse anytime over a monkey.
These monkeys especially will adjust your idea of "cute animals". Even Booty has decided that she doesn't much like them anymore. H is not easily corrupted by experience- he still thinks they are dear little creatures. Even after one tried to attack me.
We were sitting by the pool having an afternoon pot of chai. All of a sudden a monkey saunters toward us very deliberately. I knew right away he was after the sugar so I put a heavy saucer on the lid. This did not seem to deter him at all and he continued to aggressively approach our table. I threw a spoon in front of him to try and scare him away. But that did nothing. He grabbed the sugar bowl and faced me, hissing and ready for a showdown. I knew better and broke eye contact immediately and turned around. He then sat down 2 feet away and contentedly ate the entire contents of the sugar bowl. After this he came for our chai pot and I even hoped he would find a way to the scalding chai. He did not but we lost interest in the pot after he had handled it.
Throughout the trip we learned that the monkeys will not back down unless you have a weapon (a broom or even better a sling shot). We purchased two of the latter and survived the rest of our holiday without having to get a tetanus shot. This was not the fate of a friend of mine who attempted to grab back a stolen item from a monkey and was left with deep scratches on her arms.
Sometimes when the habitat of man and animal collide, it is not a pretty picture.
