Close encounter with Mona Monkeys

We've just returned from a Caribbean cruise - one of the islands that we visited was Grenada. While on a hiking trail one day, we got friendly with a group of Mona Monkeys living in the trees there - they developed an interest in photography. In fact - they developed an interest to such an extent one actually tried to take a photo!

Hi Guys - just lounging in my tree - nice of you to drop by



oooh is that a camera - want a picture??



That looks like a Nikon D90 to me



It is a D90 (actually he was watching the iris open and close in the lens and DH pressing the shutter button)



Hey....guys....come and have a look at this



Can I have a go???



Yep....that iris definitely opened and closed when you pressed that button



Do it again



Immediately after this, he kept looking at the iris while one of his hands felt along the top of the camera to see if he could find the button DH was pressing (he didn't find it).

I didn't get a shot of that as I was busy jumping out of the way of his friend who was trying to pee on me from the top of the tree

Wow, that is too cool! What a great experience! Smart little buggers!

How did the 'extreme close-up' photos your DH took come out?

That is soooooo freakin awesome

Ahahaha and that's funny that his friend was trying to pee on you

Wow that's cool, he's cute!

Wonderful pictures!!! Something you will not soon forget.

Thank you for sharing the pics. They're very cute. My boss got bit by a monkey while on an excursion from a cruise ship. Don't worry...the monkey was not hurt in the incident. Just kidding; I like my boss, but I did have tease him about it.

OH wow!!! Those pics are priceless!!! He's adorable!

That's so funny (even the image of you dodging a peeing monkey)!

wow... thats an amazing encounter!

Originally Posted by flisssweetpea



Immediately after this, he kept looking at the iris while one of his hands felt along the top of the camera to see if he could find the button DH was pressing (he didn't find it).

I didn't get a shot of that as I was busy jumping out of the way of his friend who was trying to pee on me from the top of the tree

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I love them!!! How lucky you are to have been so close to such a beautiful creature. And he sounds very smart to have tried to find the button DH was using.

I nearly peed myself reading that one of his friends was trying to pee on you!!!

So intelligent! And so beautiful... thank you for sharing these pictures!

Thank you to all who replied and looked at the photos - it's nice to be able to share such a lovely memory with you.

Originally Posted by DarkMavis

Wow, that is too cool! What a great experience! Smart little buggers!

How did the 'extreme close-up' photos your DH took come out?

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They really are smart!

The extreme close-ups were not quite as extreme as you might imagine. I had a wide angle lens on the camera (12-24mm for those that it means something to) and this meant that the monkeys appeared a little further away. Sometimes they were so close that they were unfocused.

Originally Posted by Momto3boys

That is soooooo freakin awesome

Ahahaha and that's funny that his friend was trying to pee on you

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His friend certainly thought it was funny - seems they have a twisted sense of humour too!

Originally Posted by white cat lover

Wonderful pictures!!! Something you will not soon forget.

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You're so right Nat, it truly was one of the highlights of the cruise. It made it well worth walking beyond the tourist hang out of the place selling rum punch and trinkets.

Originally Posted by nurseangel

Thank you for sharing the pics. They're very cute. My boss got bit by a monkey while on an excursion from a cruise ship. Don't worry...the monkey was not hurt in the incident.

Just kidding; I like my boss, but I did have tease him about it.

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Haha! Phew! glad to hear the monkey was ok The monkey did try having a taste of the lens as well - it did have a filter over the top of the lens so there was not much damage that he could do.

Originally Posted by jcat

That's so funny (even the image of you dodging a peeing monkey)!

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I always seem to attract the random peeing person/creature - think they're trying to tell me something! On a visit to San Francisco a woman (who seemed infamous to the locals) got on our bus and, after trying to "interview" us (with a walkman type tape recorder) managed to pee on my leg.

Thankfully with the monkeys, a few Americans from our ship had happened upon us with the monkeys and we had drawn a little crowd - they were able to warn me to jump out of the way just in time.

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

I love them!!! How lucky you are to have been so close to such a beautiful creature. And he sounds very smart to have tried to find the button DH was using.

I nearly peed myself reading that one of his friends was trying to pee on you!!!

Click to expand...

Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

So intelligent! And so beautiful... thank you for sharing these pictures!

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It really was amazing to watch the monkey mentally processing what was happening. There was no doubt that he was trying to figure out what he needed to do. Given a little more time, I feel sure he would have been able to take a shot.

What an awesome experience! That's a great sequence of shots. You can really see the thought processes going on in the monkey's mind. Wonderful!
Oh, and I'm glad you didn't get peed on this time!

You're so right - you could see them processing the information. How I'd have loved to spend more time with them.

I think both me and the rest of the passengers were glad I dodged the monkey pee - two hours stuck in a humid 23 seater bus with me stinking of monkey pee wouldn't have been their first choice I'm sure

aww they are so cute, so funny to hear you almost got peed on!

Hi Fran Nice to hear from you again. Glad I was able to bring a smile to your day