Who is getting out of hand, humans or monkeys?

Yesterday, I was telling my colleague about how I go to the Macritchie Reservoir to trek. That this was my form of keeping fit.

She then commented on how there were so many monkeys and how they will snatch food from trekkers. She told me that she even heard the monkeys knew how to open people's bag to rummage through their stuff for food and any such stuff.

I then told her the appalling story of how my friend's back-up camera batteries got snatched away by monkeys while at Macritchie (or was it Bukit Timah Hill)?

After making a string of comments about how horrible and terrible this was, she made one comment that really stuck out: " That is why I don't go to these places. The situation is really getting out of hand."

What situation? If anything, I think we have invaded into the monkeys own natural territory and perhaps, in the eyes of the monkeys, we are the ones getting out of hand. She is obviously an urban junkie who does not appreciate nature. The nearest thing to a jungle she has come across is probably the concrete ones that surround her all the time.

Trekking, is to be in one with nature, and animals, are part of nature too! As much as they are snatching our food, we must still respect the shared space that we have with them. That's my take on it.