5 long-tailed macaques squabble over bubble tea taken from eatery near Lower Peirce Reservoir

Five long-tailed macaques were spotted behind the boardwalk at Lower Peirce Reservoir Park, squabbling over two cups of Liho drinks.

A passerby, Nicholas Lo, was having lunch at Casuarina Curry on Dec. 2 when he spotted the group of macaques bickering over the two cups of Liho.

A casual wildlife photographer, Lo took some photos and shared them online.

Lo told Mothership that the Liho cups could have been left behind or possibly snatched from patrons of Casuarina Curry, a stone's throw from the forested area around Lower Peirce Reservoir.

The macaques fought over the drinks on the ground, until one of them resorted to taking a cup and climbing into the trees to escape the others.

Unfortunately for the sneaky primate, this caused some of the bubble tea to spill out.

The other macaques were seen drinking the leftover milk tea from the cup left on the ground.

Lo said the monkeys were not aggressive at the time, and that other passersby calmly walked away as macaques are a common sight in the area.

Public advised not to expose food near macaque inhabited areas

NParks' website advises members of the public to avoid feeding monkeys, as this will reduce their natural inclination to forage in the forest, which may impact their role in seed dispersal through fruit consumption.

Members of the public are also advised to avoid bringing plastic bags to macaque-inhabited areas.

This is because macaques are intelligent creatures and will associate plastic bags with food or drinks, and are prone to snatching the plastic bags or wrappers if they are left out in the open.

Top images from Nicholas Lo