Monkey Business

A post-fight bite to eat

We live in a country that is home to the top ten deadliest animals in the world and yet it seems only to be when I visit the urban jungle of Hong Kong that I encounter wildlife that leaves me truly fearing for my life. Last Christmas we came across a 20ft-long python having a little nap on the path after a meal of what looked like a cow (see my blog post on the close brush with death for further details) and this year we had a face-off with a bunch of angry, rabid monkeys. We walked up a path in Sai Kung to find half a dozen rather large red faced and bottomed primates seemingly gagging for a fight. It was like walking through the centre of a dodgy area of an English town at 2am in the morning. As soon as I saw them I grabbed The Mother's arm - why I rushed to her I don't know, seeing as she is the weakest and smallest of our little group, but it perhaps it was an instinct to want to be protected by my mother. And when one of the monkeys closest to us actually growled at us, I practically jumped into her arms. I did not fancy being mauled by a wild monkey. We managed to move past them unscathed - physically if not mentally - and when we returned only one was left, completely engrossed in devouring some food discarded by a careless walker. It had unleashed some male agression and was now ready for food - again like a boozed-up man from a rough area in the UK. Who knew Hong Kong could be so dangerous?