They've even been widely known to steal something valuable and barter those items in return for food.
"Have monkeys ever stolen your stuff?" asked user u/friendly_checkingirl on Reddit's travel page. Most people have been victims of monkeys outsmarting them and stealing their belongings, especially food. Now, when we look back at it, it becomes a hilarious core memory. We don't mind sharing some food with them but a lot of times, Macaque monkeys specifically, do not just steal things but also barter them. They might steal something valuable and barter those items in return for food. We knew they were smart but accepting that these jumpy creatures could outsmart us, does hurt a human's ego.
Jean-Baptiste Leca, an associate professor in the department of psychology at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, observed and examined the behavior of macaque monkeys around the Uluwatu Temple in southern Bali, Indonesia for a study, reports CBC. He concluded that monkeys have established a scale of value for different objects, based on how often humans tend to engage in bartering to get those items back. "These behaviors have been maintained across generations of monkeys for at least 40 years in this population, so I look at this behavior practice as a cultural behavior," he added.
In honor of these sadistically sassy primates and their abilities to make us go bananas, here is a hilarious compilation of experiences we humans have faced due to their kleptomaniac tendencies:
"Back in 1985 a monkey in Lop Buri stole, and tried to eat, my Southeast Asia on a Shoestring book. Having decided it didn't taste as good as it looked (it was banana coloured) it tore all the pages out instead. I managed without for the rest of the trip." -u/WurzelGummidge
"Yeah I had a blue monkey steal my cookie at a campsite in Tanzania.
He ran up into the tree and removed it from its plastic packaging and littered!" -u/Edward_the_Penitent
"Good friend of mine in India had to put locks on her fridge because the monkeys break in and steal food out of the fridge." - u/cg0rd0noo7
"We had a monkey come in through a window at night, and steal a bunch of bananas that were on the table. Don't remember where exactly, but somewhere in India." -u/IrrayaQ
"This afternoon my neighbour came by with a monkey riding in front of her on the handlebars of her bicycle. I went downstairs wearing a baseball cap and the little monkey swiped it right off of my head." -uMotor-Ad-8858
"Once in Bali, I was photographing a troop of macaques filing past my hotel in the nearby trees. I had laid one of my lens filters on the edge of the balcony while I replaced it with another. I had not noticed a very young macaque had broken from the troop and gotten onto the balcony edge. He was sneaking towards the filter. I realized what was happening just as the monkey grabbed the filter. As a knee-jerk reaction, I shouted, 'Put that down!' and shockingly it did immediately, somewhat like a naughty child obeying a stern adult. To be honest, I was preparing to count the filter as a loss, but, to my surprise the monkey was polite." -u/MenacingWig
"I had a macaque in India steal my water bottle right out of my hand. I didn't even realize the monkey was there. These incidents were another reminder that when monkeys are involved, be aware of all belongings and always hold tight." -u/MenacingWig
"We stopped at a place called Monkey Island. I got out my wallet to buy bananas to feed the bastards, and evidently set the wallet down on a table while I was feeding them. I didn’t realize until hours later that my wallet was gone. Back at the island, I told the people working about ny missing wallet and they all thought I was blaming them for stealing it. They all shouted 'no! monkeys take!'- u/PYITEllie
"There is a colony of monkeys on top of Gibraltar. Seen them steal hats and then throw them away where they can't be recovered."- u/Oblio36
"They are savages. I've lost lays, Cheetos, car keys, ego and my will to hike." -u/_Slinger
"A monkey stole my glasses right off my face." -u/Ramble-Bramble
"Zoo in Skopje Macedonia, a little monkey escaped from mother's care, jumped on my shoulders, and tried to eat from the popcorn in my hands. My mommy just stood speechless, but I wasn't scared, just enjoying. Beautiful experience in my memory." -u/bampsi
"My family and I were on a trip traveling through south India after a wedding and we only had one tape to listen to (Poor planning). Since it was mostly going from one temple or palace to another, we were traveling through some jungle areas with not many shops so this tape was all we had in terms of entertainment. Well as we’re mossying around, a monkey just jumps into the bus, hits the driver and steals our tape! There was food right there too but it’s like the monkey knew!"-u/ Affectionate-Fig-
"In Sri Lanka a monkey stole my passport, my money and phone! Chased that f**ker down and got my stuff back." -u/Mewapoop
"I once saw an entire troop of monkeys exiting a tourist bungalow window, each one carrying something. I gave chase but they soon outran me through the trees. I knew they would but just hoped they might drop the stuff but they never did. Poor tourist, I just hope he didn't lose anything of value." -u/friendly_checkingirl
"There was a monkey on Gibraltar set on swiping stuff from my grandmother. Instead he grabbed some little girl’s drink, tasted it, and chucked it off the mountain." -u/duTemplar
"In Lop Buri a monkey jumped onto my head and reached down and grabbed an open plastic water bottle out of my hand, then jumped away and turned the bottle upside down to empty it. A few minutes later I saw the monkey perched on some temple ruins, repeatedly whacking another monkey on the head with my water bottle, just really whaling on the other monkey." -u/_monkey_story_
"I was about halfway up Emeishan in China. I'd just dropped about 10RMB on some orange juice and put it into an accessible pocket in my backpack. About 10 minutes later, a rather muscular monkey saw the OJ and calmly walked directly towards me, bearing teeth and proceeded to climb up me to get the juice. He walked off with it in his mouth and he went on to bite the top off and then down the drink. I hope that monkey has suffered great misfortune in the 9 years that have passed since that OJ moment" - u/GlandMasterFlaps
"Shake-hand monkey stole a handful of my hair in Jaipur in the early 90's." -u/nuciferanda
"Monkeys were really tricky and lured the tourist. A female with a small baby sat on a low tree near the beach and when the tourists went there to look the other monkeys came from behind the tourists and robbed the backpacks. They grabbed everything they could get hold off." -u/franzastisch
"Yes. Stole a wrapped energy bar from my hand. In the monkey’s defense, the wrapper was shiny." -u/trytorememberthisone
"A baboon stole my mom's purse in Kenya in 1982. She was carrying all of our passports and a banana. Not the brightest move on her part. We had to chase that thing around for over an hour." -u/ScathachtheShadowy
"When my husband and I were in Kruger Park, South Africa, we left our cabin briefly without latching the door. Vervet monkeys got in and dumped a bag of sugar all over the floor. They took my husband’s bubblegum (he had just quit smoking and chewed it like crazy). They left a trail of half-chewed purple gum from our cabin to a tree! We learned to latch the door. But the monkeys kept coming back, and would lick the sugar on the brick patio while we were standing right there." -u/Act-Math-Prof
"Monkey stole my hat in Bali. Had to trade some food to get it back but he bit the button off the top. What a little jerk." -u/BGritty81
"I had a rhubarb pie stolen by a vervet monkey in Malawi. Also had a tug of war with one over a bunch of bananas." -u/ThatguyRufus
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