I’m anti-zoo. Ethically, I don’t believe they’re the best place for wild animals. And something seems wrong about an animal being enclosed for my personal education and entertainment. But, I’m in my mid-30s. I’ve been to more than my fair share of zoos. Now, I would love for my child to see and experience exotic animals from far-away lands. So I think that might have to come later when we can save up and take trips to reserves, animal sanctuaries, and national parks where animals can roam freely.
While this is better for the animals and even a better experience for children, it has the potential for danger. An Australian couple discovered this recently when a trip to a famous beach in Thailand ended in a fight against a pack of monkeys.
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The travel vloggers visited Monkey Beach on Ko Phi Phi Don Island in Thailand.
Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu are travel vloggers and parents. They have been sailing the world for nine years. They document their travels with their sons Lenny, 5, and Darwin, 1, for their 1.8 million followers. Recently, the family of four visited Thailand, and made their way to Monkey Beach on Ko Phi Phi Don Island. While they were watching the monkeys, the animals were eyeing their bag.
The monkeys on the beach got curious about the contents of their bags.
One of the monkeys eventually grabbed the bag and started to look through it. Riley, 38, ran toward the monkey in an attempt to scare it away from the bag. But instead of retreating, the monkey lunged forward, trying to fight back. Eventually, the monkey set its sights on Darwin.
Riley shielded his son.
Riley moved his son behind him. The toddler tripped and Riley scooped up his son into his arms. But he still had to get his bags away from the monkeys. The bags didn’t contain any food, but had important items, like their passports, wallets, phones, and cameras.
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Riley left the fight with a cut on his finger.
In his last attempt to retrieve his phone, Riley had to punch a monkey to get them away from him. But the monkeys didn’t go quietly. Riley left the scuffle with a bleeding cut from a monkey’s bite.
After the family had their kids and belongings safely back with them, Riley and Elayna remarked at how the other tourists on the beach did nothing to help but instead stood by filming. Riley said it was “astonishing.”
Monkey bites are common in this area.
After everything calmed down, Riley had to be treated for the monkey bites. “I need to have five or more needles into my wound or around it, then five shots over 20 days, then another shot today,” he explained in the YouTube video documenting the incident.
Medical professionals near the island say they treat one or two people every day for monkey bites. In the narration for the video, Elayna explained that the couple hadn’t done enough research on the island before traveling there.
“Had we had known this beach was notorious for monkey attacks, we wouldn’t have gone,” she said.
