Cambodian Officials Warn Tourists About Aggressive Monkeys at Angkor Wat

Cambodian officials are warning visitors to the nation’s famous Angkor Wat complex of buildings to stay away from wild monkeys. They say the animals have become aggressive and destructive.

The officials blamed the behavior of the macaque monkeys on visitors to the area who feed the animals or interact with them.

Social media influencers – many of them on YouTube – use video of the monkeys to grow their online followings, the officials added.

The macaques are native to forest areas surrounding Angkor Wat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in northwestern Cambodia. The monkeys have become more destructive of property around the popular tourist area.

Officials watching the animals told the French News Agency, AFP, that too much human interaction – especially by people filming material to publish online – had changed the monkeys’ behavior.

The agency that operates Angkor Wat is the APSARA National Authority. It said in a statement that a small number of YouTubers repeatedly feed the monkeys to create videos. This "changed the monkeys' natural behavior from being wild animals to domestic ones that are aggressive, steal food, and cause injuries among people."

Agency spokesman Long Kosal told AFP that officials also worry about the monkeys causing damage to stonework that dates back centuries. "On top of biting visitors, they have been climbing up and pushing stones down, damaging temples," he said. Some macaques had also damaged information signs.

Local officials have urged tourists to leave the monkeys alone while visiting Angkor Wat. They added that they are currently looking for "an appropriate solution" to solve the problem.

Angkor Wat was the capital of the Khmer Empire. Building work began on the complex about 900 years ago. It remains Cambodia's top tourist site and earns a lot of money for the developing nation. More than one million foreign tourists visited the area last year.

Since becoming a world heritage site in 1992, Angkor Wat and the surrounding forest have received increased legal protection and security.

Officials have expressed hope that wildlife sightings around Angkor Wat will increase visitor interest and support conservation education efforts.

Last year, Cambodian officials announced a plan to carry out a census of monkeys in public areas to identify and take away those presenting a danger to humans.