Recently, an Australian couple found out the hard way when a visit to a well-known beach in Thailand turned into a brawl with a group of monkeys.
Travel vloggers and parents Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu, along with their sons Lenny, 5, and Darwin, 1, visited Monkey Beach on Ko Phi Phi Don Island in Thailand. With over 1.8 million followers, the family has been sailing the world for nine years and sharing their adventures. While at Monkey Beach, the curious monkeys took an interest in their bag, prompting one of them to grab it and start rummaging through it. Riley attempted to scare the monkey away, but instead, it lunged forward and targeted Darwin, leading to a dangerous encounter.
As the monkey lunged forward towards his son, Riley immediately shielded him by moving him behind him. While doing so, the toddler tripped and Riley swiftly scooped him up into his arms. However, he still needed to retrieve his bags that contained important items such as passports, wallets, phones, and cameras, but no food.
In the midst of the struggle, Riley sustained a cut on his finger. In his last attempt to get his phone back, he had to punch one of the monkeys to deter them from him. Unfortunately, the monkeys were not intimidated, and Riley was left with a bleeding bite mark.
Later, the couple expressed their disappointment in the lack of help from other tourists on the beach who chose to film the ordeal instead of offering assistance. Riley commented that he found it “astonishing.”
Monkey bites are prevalent in this region.
Following the incident, Riley had to undergo treatment for the monkey bites. In a YouTube video documenting the event, he explained that he had to receive five or more needles into his wound or around it, followed by five shots over 20 days and another shot that day.
According to medical professionals near the island, they treat one or two individuals each day for monkey bites. In the video narration, Elayna stated that the couple had not conducted enough research on the island before their visit.
“If we had known that this beach was known for monkey attacks, we wouldn’t have gone,” she said.