Just recieved an e-mail from a friend on a tour in Thailand and she said a monkey bit one of the tour members on the butt and that she started rabie shots. Don't know the circumstances but my question to those of you that know Thailand.. Are monkeys a problem? Do we need to be concerned about bites or is this just an unfortunate accident?

People typically get bitten by moneys when the person has invaded the monkey's territory. Monkeys can be aggressive in those circumstances. Monkeys are wild animals, and people sometimes forget to give them that respect for their space.

I've traveled extensively in SE Asia and have had many encounters with moneys. I've never been bitten, nor do I know of anyone who has been. I would consider this to be an unusual occurance.

I'm glad the person is getting rabies shots.

The same thing happened to a friend on Bali...however bitten on the hand. I stayed clear of the monkeys on Bali and stay clear of them in Thailand,too. They can be quite aggressive...like snatching one's purse or eyeglasses and running away with them, etc...Friends have had some not-so-good monkey experiences around the world. Happy Travels!

"Are monkeys a problem?"

Well, they are not running around EVERYWHERE but you will find them in certain areas like Lopburi for instance.

http://thailandforvisitors.com/central/lopburi/monkeys/

My advice is to avoid them, try to ignore them.

I think if you are going to be worried about animal bites you are more likely to be bitten by a soi dog. Dogs run wild, they are rarely given shots for rabies and they are everywhere including cities! Bangkok has lots of stray dogs!

Avoid dogs too!

I think you would have to be really unlucky or really careless to be bitten by a monkey or a dog.

I visited Lopburi. The monkeys are free to roam where ever they want and some of them have fungus infections of the skin but you shouldn't try to touch them anyway. There are large family groups with mothers carrying babies on their backs and others with babies hanging from their necks. At the ruined temple there is a caretaker who provides water for the monkeys and sells food. The monkeys will take the food and actually pose for photos. They are tame as long as they are not harrassed. It is a great experience if you walk slowly and speak softly there are no problems. As Kathie said, any animal will be upset if harrassed.

I want to post a different view of the monkeys at Lopburi. They are all around the temple area. I was standing there taking a picture of the temple and a monkey launched itself from the ground unto my shoulder. It did not bite me and it jumped off when I yelled, (shreeked was more like it). I just want to let people know that you do not have to be harrassing the monkeys, for them to jump on you. So photographers, be aware.

So true! A friend was at a temple and a monkey jumped on her back and had its arms around her neck holding on. It REALLY freaked her out. Happy Travels!