Monkey Business

Having collected its ransom, a macaque leaves
the prescription sunglasses behind.

Criminals have been identified, the evidence against them is irrefutable, but they're immune from prosecution.

At a cliff-side temple on the tropical island of Bali, an unexpected group of criminals is running one of the world’s most sophisticated scam operations.

Every week, they steal dozens of phones, wallets and other valuables from tourists in broad daylight and exchange them for handsome rewards. It’s been going on for decades and nobody’s been able to stop it.

The culprits? Long-tailed macaques....

On the southern tip of the Indonesian vacation hot spot known for its beaches, tourists flock to Uluwatu Temple for traditional fire dance shows and panoramic views at sunset with the Indian Ocean crashing below. The Balinese Hindu site dates back to at least the 11th century and the roughly 600 monkeys that inhabit it are considered by locals to be sacred guardians of the temple.

Primate researchers have found that the macaques steal belongings to use as currency to trade with humans for food. Some monkeys can distinguish between objects we highly value (smartphones, prescription glasses, wallets) and those we don’t (hats, flip flops, hair clips)—and will barter accordingly, according to a University of Lethbridge team that spent years filming the macaques and analyzing hundreds of hours of footage.

Monkey handlers ("pawang") help negotiate the return of the stolen property.

They offer fruits such as bananas, mangos, rambutan and mangosteen in exchange for the stolen items. In rare cases, they use raw chicken eggs, highly coveted by the monkeys.

If your humble blogger were ever to visit Bali, he would flaunt packages of snacks (though the authorities disapprove) to divert the monkeys' attentions from more valuable items. To the simian mind a potato chip is prized over the silicon kind, and on Bali it's hard to disagree.