Monkey trouble

Cute, aren't they? 30-ish pound monkeys like these roam all over the forests of Emei Shan, a famous holy mountain in Southwestern China. Pictured above is Allison, my roommate on the steps to our monastery/hostel luring Mr. Monkey forward for a close-up shot.

I thought they were cute too...at first.

Searching for wild monkeys all morning, we were delighted when two curious georges hopped onto our path. Funny and inquisitive, one monkey immediately approached us and began a scratching/staring/glancing routine that got us all to stop and whip out the cameras. Little did I know that these monkeys have actually been trained by pickpocketers of NYC and that I would later be their next victims in a long line of gullible tourists.

If only Tracy had seen monkey #2 flanking our group a moment earlier....By the time she let out a cry of alarm I was already marked as the new target. Before I knew it, the sneaky monkey took a flying leap from a lower stair onto my backpack, and the sudden unexpected weight nearly pulled me backwards down the stairs. Screaming from shock of a monkey attack, I tried to regain my balance and run away. Monkey #2 was quite smart and quickly located the brand new pack of mint oreos stashed in the exposed side net pocket of my pack. After snatching his spoils, he dropped off of my back just in time to avoid the slingshot of a monastery guard who had heard my helpless yelps.

My shock and disbelief at the mischeviousness of wild monkeys was met by laughs and too-little-too-late warnings by workers of the monastery. After recovering from my wild animal attack experience, the event became one of the most humorous of our trip, and we bemoaned only the fact that we were unable to capture this momentous occasion on video. Most of the following day was spent trying to recreate an attack on camera, but our timid attempts proved only mildly successful. So much for proof; you'll just have to believe me.