Monkey punches girl in face at zoo for taunting him with food
A little girl in China got a harsh insight to the reality of life in the wild when a monkey punched her square in the face over a bit of food.
As someone who gets very hangry, I know how annoying it can be to be taunted with food.
Watching a waiter approach with a delicious-looking bowl of pasta, only to have them swerve past the table at the last minute is close to heartbreaking, and it can result in a lot of feelings of frustration.
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That being said, I've never outright punched anyone who's taunted me with food. At least, not yet.
The same can't be said for one particular monkey in China, who was being treated to some snacks from a visitor to its zoo when it suddenly became violent.
The incident unfolded when a young girl went to visit the zoo with an adult, who could be seen handing out food for the monkey to eat.
The pair crouched down close to the monkey, but at one point they both moved their hands back, seemingly limiting the animal's access to the snacks.
After footage from the incident emerged, it was suggested that the child teased the monkey by dangling a piece of food in front of its face before pulling it away.
That was all it took to cause the monkey to unleash its anger, and it suddenly threw a punch in the direction of the young girl, who wasn't much bigger than the animal itself.
The outburst took everyone by surprise, the person behind the camera jumped as the adult woman leapt to her feet.
Meanwhile, the young girl fell backwards on to the stone ground behind her, while the monkey settled back into its seated position as if nothing had happened.
Though it's probably not often that you might find yourself at risk of a conflict with a monkey, in 2007 Slate.com released an article about 'How To Fight Monkeys', should you ever happen to find yourself in that situation.
The site cited one study that found that food is often a factor in conflicts between humans and monkeys, as seemed to be the case with the little girl in China.
Thankfully, there's a simple way to diffuse the conflict: just give them what they want.
"If you are holding a snack, throw it in their direction, and they’ll stop bothering you," the site explains.
"If you don’t have any food, hold out your open palms to show you’re not carrying a tasty treat or back away from the monkeys without showing fear.
"To diffuse the situation, don’t make eye contact or smile with your teeth showing—in the nonhuman primate world, these are almost always signs of aggression."
So there you have it - may you never find yourself at risk of being punched in the face by a monkey.
Emily Brown