Braving the monkey menace: Tourists visiting the Angkor Wat temple complex in Siem Reap. The number of monkeys at Angkor had increased significantly with the transition of natural life from wild monkeys to domestic monkeys, who are well-fed by the tourists. — AFP
Throngs of monkeys living in Cambodia’s famed Angkor Archeological Park are posing a risk to tourists and temples, a Cambodian government agency said.
The Apsara National Authority (ANA), which is responsible for managing, safeguarding and preserving the Angkor site, said in a news release that the number of monkeys at the ancient park had increased significantly with the transition of natural life from wild monkeys to domestic monkeys.
It is estimated that there could be hundreds of monkeys in the Angkor Thom area.
Those well-fed primates seem to be familiar with humans, as they no longer enter the forest in search of food, but instead wait for food from humans and sometimes snatch food from tourists, the agency said on Wednesday.
The ANA urged people to stop feeding the monkeys to take photos for commercial or entertainment purposes, so that the monkeys can live naturally and do not expect human feeding.
In the news release, local tourism professionals also mentioned the menacing behaviours the monkeys developed that pose a risk to people, temples and environmental hygiene at large, including biting tourists, rummaging trash bins and damaging tourist facilities.
Located in Siem Reap province, the 401sq km Angkor Archeological Park, inscribed on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) in 1992, is the most popular tourist destination in the South-East Asian nation. — Xinhua
