This is the hilarious moment a cheeky monkey snatched a tourist’s phone and started filming a selfie video of his trek through the Indonesian jungle.
Ashley Hoak, 26, was filming some of the local monkeys in Uluwatu, Bali, when one managed to snatch her phone out of her hand.
After desperate attempts to retrieve it with peanuts, Ashley and her friend Sabrina Weibel, 27, chased the primate through the woods for 45 minutes using a tracker before finding the phone abandoned on the ground, with a surprise.
In that time, the curious little monkey had documented his run through the forest, stopping occasionally to touch and test the camera with his fingers, or look at himself on the screen.
The tourists, who took home a unique souvenir from their holiday, said they couldn’t stop laughing at the images after getting over the initial shock of the theft.
For almost an hour, the primate filmed his walk through the forest and watched himself.
Ashley Hoak sits on a wall while the cheeky monkey looks at her phone, in Bali, Indonesia
The deviant monkey maintains eye contact with Ashley as he reaches for her phone.
Sabrina said she was ‘nervous because he was going to hurt us’… but ‘she also thought it was funny’
Uninterested in food packets, monkey clings to phone before shooting
Footage taken moments before the robbery showed the monkey gradually approaching and baring its teeth before snatching the phone from Ashley.
Sabrina, from the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, US, said: “The moment the monkey stole Ashley’s phone, I was nervous that it was going to hurt us, but I also thought it was really funny.
“So I immediately started documenting it because my camera was already off.”
Ashley, pictured wearing a white top, is seen sitting on a wall as the monkey approaches, before the camera shows the monkey walking through a courtyard with an iPhone.
‘I figured the monkey would be nice if I was nice to him and sent him good energy, but he kept showing his teeth!’ Ashley said.
“I’ve never seen this before,” Sabrina added.
“When we entered, the staff told us to take care of our belongings, but were shocked when the monkey was stealing items from our hands.”
The tourists try to negotiate with the monkey, throwing food at it in an attempt to get it to drop the phone.
Seemingly recognizing its value to tourists, the monkey continues undeterred and ventures into the forest.
There, the group is joined by a troop of similar monkeys before our cunning primate launches himself up a tree.
Sabrina and Ashley head deeper into the woods, following the monkey with Apple’s “find my iPhone” feature.
Eventually, they tracked him to a clearing and found the phone abandoned on the ground, as his monkey friend had apparently grown tired of his brief stint as a vlogger.
After finding the images, Sabrina said she and Ashley saw the funny side.
‘Most people thought the video and photos were hilarious. To begin with, other people were angry because we were surrounded by monkeys!
‘The only thing I have to add is that I don’t have any more monkeys!’
Ashley added: ‘I was so surprised because he snatched it out of my hand so quickly!
Tourists followed the monkey into the forest with the “Find my iPhone” function
The monkey spent 45 minutes wandering around with the camera, interested mainly in itself.
The monkey takes a brief respite with his new possession before venturing out
The thief recorded his cuteness on the phone for 45 minutes before releasing it
Ashley (pictured) and Sabrina followed the monkey through the woods and saw the funny side.
They finally found the phone abandoned in a clearing near the sea.
Sabrina (left) and Ashley (right) were able to see the funny side of their misfortune
Bali has a large population of monkeys that attracts thousands of tourists every year.
While locals warn that the monkeys can be dangerous or mischievous, the region benefits from the arrivals and continues to meet demand.
Recently, two British tourists shared their experience in the Ubud Sacred Monkey Forest, posing for an apparent selfie with a monkey inside the forest.
The forest is a nature sanctuary in Padangtegal village, Ubud, covering about 12.5 hectares of land and home to around 1,200 monkeys.
Since the 14th century, the forest has been considered a sacred place and is home to three temples.
Today, the forest gets by on its responsible tourism trade, helping to preserve it as a vital conservation area.
For around £2.50 per visit, tourists can pose in a staged selfie act, creating a joyful souvenir to take home.