Finding monkeys while travelling is not as easy as it sounds. Despite the abundance, it is considered difficult to see monkeys unless you know where to look. Spotting monkey is such an experience. Monkeys are considered the closest species to human due to similarities in many aspects. They can be playful dangerous at the same time. If you are monkey enthusiasts, might as well travelling to places where they can be easily spotted. And here are some of the best recommendations:
Kinabatangan River, Borneo
Borneo is called the Asian Amazon and plays such a huge role to the ecosystem in our planet. In Kinabatangan River, you have fat chances to see two unique and endangered primates. They are proboscis monkeys and Borneo orangutan. You can only find orangutan in Borneo and Sumatra Island. This is categorized into endangered species because it almost extinct. The main reason of it is the oil palm plantation that has cleared the forest, their original habitat. Meanwhile, the unique feature of proboscis monkeys is their large nose. It is easy to spot them around Kinabatangan River.
Danum Valley, Borneo
Again, Borneo is a great place to visit if you look for seeing monkeys. This is where you get to meet maroon langurs or red leaf monkeys. They often pay a visit to the Field Centre. Hence, you can observe them from close distance. They love eating green leaves of tropical trees, hence the nickname. You can also see Borneo gibbons, and they are also an endemic primate. This app lack of tails but smaller in size.
Khao Sam Roy Yot National Park, Thailand
You can travel to Thailand to see various species of monkeys. Khao Sam Roy Yot National Park offer amazing views of nature. However, it is also home to dusky langur. They are considered the cutest monkeys in Asia with their appearance. They have large white colored circles around their eyes making them look like wearing glasses. There are also crab-eating macaques you get to see during your trip here. They have long tail and tend to be brazen. Hence, be mindful when encounter with them.
Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
Not only in Asian countries, you can also travel to Costa rica to see monkeys. In Corcovado National Park, there are four species of Costa Rica’s monkey. They are Geoffroy’s spider monkeys, mantled howlers, Central American squirrel monkey, and white-faced capuchin. Habitat loss is one of the reason of the extinction of the monkeys here. Another reason is illegal capture.
Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve is a place you can visit to see chacma baboons. This is the most dangerous monkeys in the world. It is reported that they can even rip leopard apart easily with their teeth only. They are not considered endangered since they are widespread. However, habitat loss has significantly decreased the number of them. Today, they are mostly isolated because they started to visit suburban areas where they cause damage by entering people’s homes.