INDONESIA – A viral video of a protective monkey guarding a human child has taken Indonesian netizens by storm.
This viral video was uploaded on Monday by Twitter user @SammiSoh.
According to @SammiSoh, this footage was filmed in a serene village in Bali, Indonesia.
As said in his Twitter caption, “this monkey is trained by Balinese to look after the toddler. Pay attention to how this monkey notices the risk of danger to this girl and swiftly acts to protect the toddler”.
Hargai dan lestarikan talenta daerah kita
Kera ini dilatih oleh warga Bali utk menjaga balita. Perhatikan bgmn kera ini memperhatikan resiko bahaya pada anak perempuan ini dan cepat tangkas bertindak amankan balita ini. pic.twitter.com/elF5Ju7yvu
— Pemerhati Hukum Emperan (@SammiSoh) July 17, 2023
In the video, it is seen that the monkey and child were going out from home to see rain at the house’s terrace. However, the child is seen approaching the puddle in front of the house.
As the child ventured towards a puddle, the monkey, dressed in a white t-shirt and grey pants, immediately sprang into action.
Showcasing protective instinct, the monkey pulled the toddler softly to avoid the puddle.
After pulling the toddler, the monkey then guided the toddler back indoors and diligently closed the door to prevent any further adventurous excursions.
This viral video has gained a lot of attention from Indonesian netizens.
Up till today (21 Jul), the video has been viewed 3.5 million times and being retweeted 1,502 times by netizens on Twitter.
Comments from netizens also flood this post. There as as many as 512 replied, and also as many as 928 netizen has quoted this video on Twitter.
Most of them feel concerned and unhappy as monkeys are not trained to do things like this and it is outright animal abuse.
“It’s ANIMAL ABUSE. Don’t support the animal abuse movement of any kind. Animal abuse is not only about violence, but also ordering animals to do things that are outside their natural behavior. This is coercion. Also, this is a wild primates, a great risk of transmitting zoonotic disease,” said user f******i.
Another comment come from user k*****g that criticized the toddler’s parents.
“Are you so poor that you can’t even hire a babysitter? Whereas they (animals) already have their own habitat to live, so selfish.”
Although most people show their concern, there are also netizens who think that this is a sweet act of the monkey and it is just like how dog guards are trained to guard humans.
“This is just like a guard dog, isn’t it? Dogs that are trained in such a way for people with special needs, etc., but this is in the form of ape. Isn’t it just like that? Because everyone is screaming animal abuse, I don’t understand where the abuse is. Sorry if this is sensitive. Correct me if I’m wrong,” said user m****** in her reply.
While many voiced their agreements, some were more agreeable to the idea.
“Agree, these apes are not being used but trained to be smart without changing their natural instincts, rather than being caged or chained and being used as human slaves to make money. Shame on humans if they ask monkeys for food.”
The viral video sparked mixed reactions from netizens across Indonesia. The Bali BKSDA (Natural Resources Conservation Center), law enforcement officials, and passionate animal lovers will take a thorough investigation to verify its authenticity and confirm whether it was indeed filmed in Bali.
“This is difficult tp prove because there is no information about the identity of the toddler and specific details of the house address in the video which shows that the house is in Bali or Indonesia, or Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, which has environmental, climatic, human physical characteristics, and has animals and fauna that are almost the same as Indonesia,” said Sumarsono, the head of the Conservation Section for Region 1 of the Bali BKSDA.
