A sharing by Ling Sing Lin
Thinking like a Monkey
Monkeys spend a great deal of energy to establish where they stand in the social hierarchy. In the monkey world, social hierarchy refers to their entitlement to the most attractive mates, the best food available and who picks out mites from whose fur. Monkeys fraternise with those in their own social hierarchy, much like humans. They prioritise those higher up the social ladder [the Straits Times 7 Sep 24].
Another definition of monkey mind describes a state of restlessness, capriciousness and lack of control of thought.
Why don’t we have Monkeys as Pets?
Humans and chimpanzees share almost 99% of their DNA. So the chimp and the bonobos [sometimes referred to as pygmy chimpanzees], members of the great ape family [others are gorillas and orangutans], are the animals most closely related to humans. Monkeys are very smart compared to other animals. We like smart pet dogs and cats. Why not have smart moneys as pets? The reason is that monkeys are potentially dangerous, and can become aggressive and bite and attack their owners.
Close Encounters with Monkeys
Singapore has many macaques in the forested areas Instead of just staying where we humans want them to be, they invade human spaces. We blame this on humans feeding them. I believe another possible reason is because there is insufficient food in the forest. I wondered why we don’t deliberatey plant more fruit trees there. Eureka! Too much good food will cause the money population to increase exponentially! So we deliberately keep them lean and less fertile!
I have personally encountered aggressive monkeys on my walks. The first was along Alex Arch, the footbridge linking Hort Park to Henderson Waves. The monkey eyed my drink bottle which contained a sweetened drink, approached me and grabbed my bottle. I refused to let go! After a tug of war, I won the battle! The next encounter was on Pulau Ubin. A monkey leaped on to my shoulder. My son-in-law with great presence of mind did a flying leap and kicked the monkey off my shoulder! All this happened within a timeframe of 2-3 seconds. I barely had time to process what was happening! I survived to tell my second monkey tale.
Monkey on your Back
Essentially, it advises one not to be too accommodating if someone tries to off load his problem or burden (ie his monkey) on you. Refuse it, or it becomes your problem. And you will have problems getting rid of the monkey or burden.
Monkeypox or Mpox
Monkeypox was first isolated from a monkey in Africa, but it does not come from monkeys. The reservoir for this virus is rodents in Central and West Africa.
Monkeypox vaccines are an effective protection. Those who had smallpox vaccination (withdrawn from use in 1980 by World Health Assembly because of smallpox eradication worldwide) have approximately 85% protection against Monkeypox. In other words, if you were born on or before 1980, you had been given smallpox vaccination.
Monkey Business
This means mischievous or deceitful behaviour, often referring to children who are left to their own devices.
On Reflection
This hotchpotch reflection about monkeys leads me to realise that we, as humans, don’t like monkeys much, even though they are closest to humans genetically. We probably don’t like their personalities, which can also describe human personalities —brilliant, curious, enthusiastic, self-assured, imaginative, quickwitted, agile, gentle, creative, crafty.
Nevertheless, as God has created the human to be superior, we should be good stewards of all His creatures, great or small, smart or not so smart.
lingsinglin
Dr Ling Sing Lin is a medical doctor by training. She worked in MOH HQ for many years, in policy making and administrative positions, until her retirement.
