This is the hilarious moment a cheeky monkey snatched a tourist’s phone and started filming a selfie video of its tour through the Indonesian jungle.
Ashley Hoak, 26, was filming some of the local monkeys in Uluwatu, Bali when one managed to snatch her phone from her hand.
After desperate attempts to barter for it back with peanuts, Ashley and her friend Sabrina Weibel, 27, chased the primate through the woods for 45 minutes using her a tracker before finding the phone abandoned on the ground — with a surprise.
In that time, the curious little monkey had documented its sprint through the woods, occasionally pausing to poke and probe the camera with its fingers, or look at itself on the screen.
The tourists, coming away with a unique keepsake of their holiday, said they could not stop laughing at the footage after getting over the initial shock of being robbed.
For nearly an hour the primate filmed its trek through the woods and looked at itself
Ashley Hoak sits on a wall as the cheeky monkey eyes up her phone, in Bali, Indonesia
The deviant monkey maintains eye contact with Ashley on its approach for her phone
Sabrina said she was ‘nervous that he was going to hurt us’… but ‘also thought it was hilarious’
Uninterested in packages of food, the monkey clings on to the phone before shooting off
Footage taken moments before the theft showed the monkey approaching gradually and baring its teeth before snatching Ashley’s phone.
Sabrina, from the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, US, said: ‘At the time, when the monkey stole Ashley’s phone, I was nervous that he was going to hurt us but also thought it was hilarious.
‘So, I immediately started documenting it because my camera was already out.’
Ashley, pictured in a white top, is seen sat on a wall as the monkey closes in, before the camera cuts to the monkey walking around a courtyard with an iPhone.
‘I assumed the monkey would be nice if I was nice to him and sent him good energy but he kept showing his teeth!’ said Ashley
‘I have never seen this before, Sabrina added.
‘When we walked in, the staff told us to watch our belongings, but were shocked when the monkey was stealing items out of our hands.’
The tourists try negotiating with the monkey, throwing food in its direction in an effort to get it to drop the phone.
Apparently recognising its value to the tourists, the monkey carries on undeterred, venturing into the woods.
There, the group are joined by a pack of similar monkeys before our sly primate darts up a tree.
Sabrina and Ashley walk deeper into the forest, following the monkey with Apple’s ‘find my iPhone’ feature.
Eventually, they traced it to a clearing and found the phone abandoned on the ground, their monkey friend having apparently tired of its brief stint as a vlogger.
After finding the footage, Sabrina said she and Ashley very much saw the funny side.
‘Most people thought the video and photos were hilarious. Other people were mad we were around monkeys to begin with!
‘The only thing I have to add is that I am over monkeys!’
Ashley added: ‘I was so surprised because he snatched it so quickly out of my hand!
The tourists followed the monkey into the forest with the find my iPhone feature
The monkey spent 45 minutes darting around with the camera, interested mostly in itself
The monkey takes a brief respite with its new possession before venturing on
The thief recorded its monkey business on the phone for 45 minutes before dropping it
Ashley (pictured) and Sabrina tracked the monkey through the woods, seeing the funny side
Eventually they found the phone abandoned in a clearing near the sea
Sabrina (left) and Ashley (right) were able to see the funny side of their misfortune
Bali has a large monkey population drawing in thousands of tourists each year.
While locals warn the monkeys can be dangerous or mischievous, the region benefits from the arrivals and continues to cater to the demand.
Two British tourists recently shared their experience at the Ubud Sacred Monkey Forest, posing for an apparent selfie with a monkey within the forest.
The forest is a natural sanctuary in the village of Padangtegal, Ubud, spanning some 12.5 hectares of land and home to around 1,200 monkeys.
Since the 14th century, the forest has been regarded as a sacred place, and remains home to three temples.
Today, the forest gets by on its responsible tourism trade, helping preserve it as a vital conservation area.
For around £2.50 a go, tourists can pose in a staged selfie act, creating a lighthearted memory for them to take home.
