T

he management of top Ubud tourist attraction, the Wanara Wana Monkey Forest, is warning visitors not to feed the local monkeys any types of nut, citing health reasons.

Nuts are high in cholesterol and protein, which could lead to weight gain and other health problems in the long-tailed macaques.

'Please do not carry nuts into the forest and do not feed the monkeys with nuts since it will badly affect their health,' Monkey Forest manager I Putu Suardika said Monday.

Suardika disclosed that instructions had been given to staff and ticket sellers to inform the visitors of the new policy.

'There will be no sanction imposed upon visitors who do not follow this policy, but I believe the visitors will do their best to ensure the health of these animals.'

He detailed that 100 grams of groundnuts contained up to 42.7 grams of fat, which, if consumed in a large quantity and on a daily basis, would easily trigger a weight problem in the monkey population. Being overweight would eventually make the primates more susceptible to disease.

'In the past, visitors frequently fed the monkeys with steamed groundnuts and we have already seen the negative results of this practice. Several monkeys are already overweight and have become less active because they are too fat.'

Groundnuts are also protein dense, with 100 grams containing up to 27.9 grams of protein. This exceeds that of both eggs, at around eight grams, and even beef, at 14 grams of fat per 100 grams of meat.

'High protein foods will also increase the monkeys' libido and aggressiveness, the very two things that we don't want to happen in a tourist site visited by a large number of visitors on a daily basis.'

Besides prohibiting visitors from feeding the monkeys with nuts, the management has also decided to introduce a healthier diet for the monkey population, including sweet potatoes and seasonal fruits.

'Sweet potatoes will be the main menu and given three times a day, while corn, rambutan, coconut, papaya and vegetables will be provided as snacks. Once every two days the monkeys will be able to feast on bananas. We are trying to provide a healthy and balanced diet.'

To ensure that the monkeys get a sufficient intake of protein, the management provides them with a supply of raw eggs twice a year, on Tumpek Kandang, the day when Balinese Hindus hold a religious ceremony to pay respects to animals and livestock. The number of eggs provided, however, is tightly controlled so as not to trigger libido spikes that might result in a population explosion.

'We carefully control the monkey population because we only have a limited space here. An uncontrolled population explosion could lead to nasty turf wars between rival monkey packs,' Suardika said, adding that there were currently 600 monkeys roaming the 14-hectare woods in south Ubud.

The Monkey Forest is the largest community-managed forest on the island and a model of the successful integration of tourism and conservation. It is owned and managed by Padangtegal customary village. In 2012, the central government acknowledged the local people's environmental achievement by awarding the forest the prestigious Kalpataru Award.

The Monkey Forest is also the home to rare and endangered flora. With assistance from Udayana University, the management has identified a number of rare plants in the forest.