'I must save my dog no matter what': Woman's pet attacked by monkeys in Yishun

A routine walk with her dog took a terrifying turn when a woman saw monkeys making a beeline for her and her pet.

Speaking to AsiaOne, the 30-year-old social media content moderator, who wished to be known as Rohini, said she was taking her dog on their usual walk along Yishun Ring Road around noon on (Wednesday) May 15.

She then spotted a pair of monkeys on the opposite side trying to cross the road.

Finding their behaviour endearing, she momentarily stopped to take a quick video of them from a distance before continuing on.

However, Rohini forgot to stop recording and unintentionally captured the moment the monkeys began running across the road towards her and her dog.

In the video, which was later posted to TikTok, one of the monkeys is seen running up to Rohini and her dog while she screams in fear and starts running.

Rohini explained that the monkeys were "showing their teeth", a sign of aggression, and one of the monkeys had gotten very close to them and "slapped" her dog.

Amidst the chaos, she threw her umbrella at it and ran away with her pet in tow.

"In my mind, I was like, I must save my dog no matter what," she said.

"I thought I was going to lose her as we were beside the road. I was scared the leash would come off, because she was panicking."

"Luckily there were cars that helped me honk at the monkeys, it startled them enough to stop chasing us and attacking my dog," she added.

Rohini told AsiaOne that she and her dog emerged from the encounter unscathed but added that her pet was "very tired after that and slept for two days straight".

In the comments under her video, Rohini said that she had never spotted monkeys in the area, which she frequents regularly.

When asked by netizens if she had been carrying any plastic bags or containers of food, she responded that all she was holding was an umbrella, which she threw at the monkeys when the incident happened.

If you encounter a monkey, back away slowly: NParks

The National Parks Board (NParks)'s guidelines for encounters with monkeys recommend staying calm and quiet, avoiding any sudden movements and direct eye contact with the monkey.

Back away slowly instead of turning away and running, and avoid the area until the monkey is gone.

Never try to hit the monkey and if there is an object that is attracting it, hide it or throw it away.

NParks also recommends to use backpacks instead of plastic bags in parks and nature reserves as monkeys associate plastic bags with food.

ALSO READ: Punggol East residents fear monkeys would attack kids, steal food after their reappearance in neighbourhood

bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com