A female tourist from Australia, had a terrifying encounter during her Bali vacation. While exploring the popular Monkey Forest Ubud, she was unexpectedly attacked by a monkey, an incident that would soon lead to a series of unfortunate events.
The tourist named Jami Groves also had to spend millions of rupiah for rabies injections after being bitten by the wild monkey.
“Three monkeys climbed up my leg and started biting me; I had to stay still because I was worried they would chase me,” Groves said, as reported by Yahoo News, Friday (7/6).
When she entered the Ubud Monkey Forest, she only read warnings and testimonials from other Australian tourists to alert visitors because monkeys often take jewelry or other objects that attract attention. But there were no warnings about monkey bites.
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Groves said she paid thousands of US dollars for eight doses of rabies prevention injections, known as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), which can stop the virus from potentially reaching the central nervous system. Because if it did, it would be 100 percent fatal.
“I had to use all my European (travel) funds to pay for the medical bills, which ended up costing me about US$6,000 (equivalent to IDR 97 million), including international transaction fees. So I was unfortunate. I hate monkeys,” she said.
Monkey Forest’s Team Response
Monkey Forest Public Relations Team Kusuma Wardani confirmed that a foreigner named Jami Groves had visited Monkey Forest, Ubud, Gianyar, Bali on Thursday (30/5/2024).
CCTV monitoring shows that Groves was bitten on the leg by a monkey because she was carrying a chain bag hanging and tied around her waist. Guidelines inform visitors that they are prohibited from carrying objects that can attract monkeys, such as bags and other objects.
“( She) was carrying a chain bag hanging from her waist, which attracted the attention of the monkeys, and the guest was bitten on the thigh and calf,” Kusuma told national media outlet Kompas.
Kusuma added that Groves continued her visit at Monkey Forest and did not report to the management after being bitten by a monkey. The Monkey Forest management has provided clinic facilities for first aid with professional nurses for visitors if they experience monkey bites.
According to Kusuma, if visitors report to the Monkey Forest Ubud clinic, the clinic staff immediately provide medical treatment. If necessary, they are referred to the hospital for further treatment.
When asked about the anti rabies injection that costs IDR 97 million, Kusuma did not know. “We don’t know where the guest received the anti rabies vaccine,” Kusuma said.
She said Monkey Forest cooperates with the Center for Primate Studies at Udayana University regularly to check the health of monkeys in the area. “No rabies virus has ever been found in monkeys in Monkey Forest, Ubud,” she said.
Kusuma later sent a photo of a health certificate from the Center for Natural Resources and Environment Primate Research Section of Udayana University as evidence to Kompas.
