For many people, meeting a monkey has long been a highlight of a holiday in the tropics, such as here on the island of Bali, Indonesia. Video No.84 to #BrightenYourDay in #lockdown is in the famous #MonkeyForest #Ubud, also known as Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary Ubud​ or to many tourists, just Monkey Temple (the site actually has three Hindu temples dating back to 1350). The 600+ monkeys are Long-tailed Macaques Macaca fascicularis and although fed by staff and visitors, they also forage naturally in the 10 hectares (27 acres) of forest in #Bali, #Indonesia.
#Primatologists have for years questioned the wisdom of feeding #monkeys in this way; the potential for tourists, who know little of monkey etiquette, to be bitten is very real, and this has long posed a clear public health risk. Today, with public awareness of zoonotic diseases, the whole idea of encouraging close contact with non-human primates is called into question.
The #Covid19 #pandemic has led to the temporary closure of the attraction, https://www.monkeyforestubud.com/monkey-forest-ubud-is-temporarily-closed/ and there is a debate over whether in a post-Covid world it should reopen.
#Macaques are susceptible to coronavirus infection - which the International Primate Protection League​* reports has led to an increase in demand for them in biomedical research labs. It also means that the virus could potentially be transmitted from tourists to monkeys, spread through the troop and then perhaps infect other tourists and staff. It is hard to see how past feeding practices could resume in light of the Covid-awareness we all have today!

*For info on primate trade, see https://www.ippl.org/gibbon/latest-posts/