Monkey steals woman's Koi bubble tea at MacRitchie bus stop & devours pearls

Cheeky.

Syahindah Ishak | November 16, 2020, 11:31 PM

Long-tailed macaques have made several appearances in Singapore's urban areas.

Here's one that stole bread from a supermarket in Sengkang:

And a pair of them roaming around Jurong West:

Stole Koi bubble tea from woman

Recently, the monkeys, which are prominent species of Singapore’s native biodiversity, were spotted at a bus stop near MacRitchie Reservoir.

A video uploaded by Stomp showed a macaque sitting on a railing with a Koi bubble tea in its hands.

Stomp reported that the monkey had stolen the bubble tea from a woman at the bus stop around 4:30pm on Thursday (Nov. 12).

Here's what happened:

In the video, the monkey can be seen sticking its hand inside the cup before devouring the bubble tea pearls.

Another macaque jumps onto the railing, wanting to join the feast.

However, the other monkey quickly turns it away.

Minimal contact is advised

To reduce the possibility of human-wildlife conflict between macaques and humans, Acres has advised the public not to feed monkeys, or leave food accessible.

As these wild monkeys occasionally pass through urban areas while moving between green spaces, feeding will alter their behaviour as the provision of food will entice them to stay in the residential area.

Feeding them will also make them less hesitant to approach people, increasing the likelihood of conflicts.

NParks has also advised minimal contact with macaques.

If you spot one in the open, do not attempt to approach it and do not turn away from it and run.

Remain calm, avoid eye contact, and back off slowly.

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Top images from Stomp.