VOA新闻杂志2025--Cambodia Warns of 'Aggressive' Monkeys around Angkor Wat

Cambodian officials are warning visitors to the nation's famous Angkor Wat complex of buildings to stay away from wild monkeys. They say the animals have become aggressive and destructive¹.

The officials blamed the behavior of the macaque monkeys on visitors to the area who feed the animals or interact² with them.

Social media influencers - many of them on YouTube - use video of the monkeys to grow their online followings, the officials added.

The macaques are native to forest areas surrounding Angkor Wat, a UNESCO World Heritage³ Site in northwestern Cambodia. The monkeys have become more destructive of property around the popular tourist area.

Officials watching the animals told the French News Agency, AFP, that too much human interaction - especially by people filming material to publish online - had changed the monkeys' behavior.

The agency that operates Angkor Wat is the APSARA National Authority. It said in a statement that a small number of YouTubers repeatedly feed the monkeys to create videos. This "changed the monkeys' natural behavior from being wild animals to domestic⁴ ones that are aggressive, steal food, and cause injuries among people."

Agency spokesman⁵ Long Kosal told AFP that officials also worry about the monkeys causing damage to stonework that dates back centuries. "On top of biting visitors, they have been climbing up and pushing stones down, damaging temples," he said. Some macaques had also damaged information signs.

Local officials have urged tourists to leave the monkeys alone while visiting Angkor Wat. They added that they are currently⁶ looking for "an appropriate solution" to solve the problem.

Angkor Wat was the capital of the Khmer Empire. Building work began on the complex about 900 years ago. It remains⁷ Cambodia's top tourist site and earns a lot of money for the developing nation. More than one million foreign tourists visited the area last year.

Since becoming a world heritage site in 1992, Angkor Wat and the surrounding forest have received increased legal protection and security.

Officials have expressed hope that wildlife sightings around Angkor Wat will increase visitor interest and support conservation education efforts.

Last year, Cambodian officials announced a plan to carry out a census⁸ of monkeys in public areas to identify and take away those presenting a danger to humans.

Words in This Story

tourist - n. someone who visits a place for pleasure and does not live there

domestic - adj. inside one country and not international

appropriate - adj. suitable or right for a particular situation

conservation - n. an organized effort that aims to protect animals and natural resources

census - n. an effort to officially count the number of people living in a certain area

1 destructive   

adj.破坏（性）的，毁灭（性）的

参考例句：

• In the end,it will be destructive of our whole society.它最终会毁灭我们整个社会。
• It is the most destructive storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的一次风暴。

2 interact   

vi.相互作用，相互影响，互通信息

参考例句：

• All things are interrelated and interact on each other.一切事物互相联系并相互作用。
• The policeman advised the criminal to interact with the police.警察劝罪犯与警方合作。

3 heritage   

n.传统，遗产，继承物

参考例句：

• The ancient buildings are part of the national heritage.这些古建筑是民族遗产的一部分。
• We Chinese have a great cultural heritage.我们中国人有伟大的文化遗产。

4 domestic   

adj.家里的，国内的，本国的；n.家仆，佣人

参考例句：

• This is domestic news.这是国内新闻。
• She does the domestic affairs every day.她每天都忙家务。

5 spokesman   

n.发言人，代言人

参考例句：

• The government spokesman gave a quick briefing to the reporters.政府发言人向记者们作了情况简介。
• They drew lots to decide who should be their spokesman.他们抽签决定谁是他们的发言人。

6 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。