During a visit to the Sacred Monkey Forest in Ubud, a monkey bit a 10-year-old Australian tourist named Amanda Tabone. Yahoo News reported that Amanda, vacationing with friends, included the Ubud Monkey Forest as one of their destinations.
Shortly after arriving at the location, Amanda encountered this unfortunate incident. In a video shared by Yahoo News, the moment captured shows the monkey unexpectedly attacking Amanda as she attempted to approach them.
This incident deeply shocked Eva, the mother, but fortunately, her child, though slightly shaken, only suffered a minor bite to the stomach from the monkey. She took immediate action by sterilizing the wound before the medical team from the Ubud Monkey Forest arrived.
Upon arrival of the medical team, they reassured that all monkeys in the Ubud Monkey Forest were free from diseases like rabies. However, within a few hours, Amanda started feeling anxious and insisted on undergoing a medical check-up at the nearest hospital.
Unfortunately, the hospital ran out of stock of the rabies vaccine and they suggested Amanda visit another clinic. After arriving at the clinic, she underwent three immediate doses of the rabies vaccine, costing $950, along with a thorough examination of her wounds.
Incident Involving Tourist Bitten by Monkeys at Ubud Monkey Forest
Amanda Tabone’s situation isn’t an isolated incident that happened in this tourist area. Throughout, multiple cases of tourists being bitten by monkeys while visiting this spot have occurred. According to information from the New South Wales Australia (NSW Health) health authority, there have been 145 cases of Australian tourists being bitten or scratched by animals throughout the year. A majority of these incidents involved tourists visiting the Ubud Monkey Forest and similar destinations across various Southeast Asian countries.
I Wayan Buda, the Conservation Manager of the Ubud Monkey Forest, emphasized that the suspension ensured the strict health monitoring of every animal. The forest always maintains a daily presence of two doctors and medical staff on standby to prevent incidents similar to Amanda’s.
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