The Rambling Writer Visits Thailand, part 15: Swimming with Monkeys

Join Thor and me as we get in the swim with playful monkeys at Our Jungle House, as your virtual Thailand vacation continues.

NOTE: “And now for something completely different.” Thor and I made our first trip to Asia — the beautiful country of Thailand.  We were lucky to squeak through the pandemic flight closures in January/February of 2020 as we returned from our three-week trip. Since more travel has now become a distant prospect, we hope you’ll take a virtual vacation with us in the following weeks. (This blog series started on June 13.)

On our last afternoon at our delightful treehouse, we had returned from a sweaty hike in the Khao Sok wilderness park and were ready for another cooling swim in the river that ran past Our Jungle House eco-lodge. Throwing on our suits, we headed for the river bank and the towering limestone cliff where the long-tailed macaques often sheltered in hollow niches.

We had seen some individuals climbing and munching on bamboo right beside our high deck, and made sure to keep our windows secured against the light-fingered rascals.

We were swimming upstream of our treehouse in a deeper pool of the river….

…when we heard monkey chatter downstream in the trees overhanging the bank.

We drifted along in the current until close to the boulders, where many macaques of all sizes were dropping out of the trees and swimming across to the boulders. The youngsters were especially exuberant, doing cannonballs into the water. We floated nearer to some adults perching on nearby boulders, as more monkeys swam close by and swarmed over the boulders and cliff. Then it occurred to us to run back to our treehouse and grab our cameras to catch the show. Here’s a 4-minute YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oskaf5A1pQ4

More monkeys kept arriving at the riverbank to swim across, including this mother with her tiny baby clinging to her belly.

It was amazing to watch her swim across, while the submerged baby must have known how to hold its breath:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1ChlcnrewE

Later, doing a bit of research, I was surprised to learn that the macaques have a matrilineal social structure of 3 to 20 females and their offspring, plus a few males. There are dominant females, who prefer to mate with alpha males but will also accept attentions from other males. With as many as we saw in the large group (dozens), there would be conflicts over food and territory, causing nervous behavior and some aggression. Apparently, grooming each other helps with bonding and “reconciliation.” And they can snack on tasty pests they pluck off of each other.

We did see a female, with a baby, who had a bad gash on her head, and she was fleeing the group after a noisy altercation in the bushes. The poor baby seemed torn between following her and remaining with the group, but after hesitation, he followed his mother. I tried not to get bit weepy, but they seem so humanlike that it’s hard not to relate.

We had been warned before the trip to be wary of monkey bites, as they can carry a nasty form of herpes, so we kept a respectful distance. The monkeys casually moved right past us and a few other people who came down to watch, so they didn’t seem to feel threatened or aggressive toward people. This one just sat down to check us out:

Here’s a YouTube video of several climbing down from the trees and dropping onto the bank to head into the river:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOdcYIM3Sr8

I guess even monkeys can be klutzy sometimes, like this poor kid who fell off a boulder, as others were having fun with more cannonballs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynauBPg5Yd8

Finally the show was over, as the group climbed into the trees and cliff, and it was time for us to return to our Liana treehouse to pack for departure the next day. We hated to leave this magical jungle retreat!

Next week: We arrive at the coast of Phuket for some fabulous snorkeling.

*****

You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Café is available in print and ebook: The Ariadne Connection. It’s a near-future thriller set in the Greek islands. “Technology triggers a deadly new plague. Can a healer find the cure?”  The novel has received the Chanticleer Global Thriller Grand Prize and the Cygnus Award for Speculative Fiction. Sara has recently returned from another research trip in Greece and is back at work on the sequel, The Ariadne Disconnect. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com