Taiwan - Chenjean's Village, Monkey on a Wire

After Terry called me back to the spot I immediately went crazy snapping away at full zoom, thankful that my lens's 300mm gave me the reach to get close.  Noticing that he was the center of attention, this guy stopped his progress along the wire to check us out, assessing whether we were a threat or could be safely ignored.  Surely the loud clacking of the 850's shutter was a strange noise that added tension to our presence.

We learned at the zoo later that this is a Formosan Rock Macaque, native only to the island of Taiwan.  At one time their numbers steeply declined due to the pet trade, something I saw first-hand during a visit there in 1987.  When this got out of hand they were placed under protection, which recovered their numbers so well that they ran amuck and became a nuisance to farmers trying to grow crops.  The locals told us that just one of these guys can do significant damage, as one would climb a fruit tree, pick one and tuck it under his arm to carry away.  Seeing more fruit, he would then pick another and attempt to tuck the second one under his arm along with the first one - see where this is going?  Yes, the first one would fall away as the arm lifted to make room for the second, and you know what happens...so it would go until the entire tree is stripped bare, with the monkey sauntering off with only the last one picked under his arm.

When we were there, in mid May, the only fruit in season in the area was the bell fruit, pictured at left.  And this was the tail end of the season, so most was either picked for market (or by monkeys) or had fallen to rot on the ground.  We imagined that our friend here was headed to a favorite tree to get some for himself and perhaps his family.