a monkey holding a piece of food
Photograph ©2009 by Brian Cohen.

Macaque in Kuala Lumpur: Sunday Morning Photograph

Quit monkeying around.

I spotted what I thought was a macaque in Kuala Lumpur one sultry day while I was walking past a packed parking lot. This silvery lutung or silvered leaf langur was on the top of a car eating something that he — or she — had either found somewhere or had stolen from somebody…

Macaque in Kuala Lumpur: Sunday Morning Photograph

Monkey Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
Photograph ©2009 by Brian Cohen.

…and this silvery lutung was unfazed by the attention that he or she was receiving.

Silvered leaf langurs, macaques, and other primates have lived in Kuala Lumpur long before human beings arrived and built what would eventually become the 64th largest city in the world in terms of population — as well as the largest city in Malaysia — but the continued increase in the population of human beings in Kuala Lumpur leads to further urban sprawl, which results in the primates either being pushed further back into the dense jungle which surround the city or having to roam free living in the city.

Macaque Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
Photograph ©2009 by Brian Cohen.

Many primates are not willing to retreat from what was once their home. Rather, they wander in gangs around the streets of Kuala Lumpur, creating a nuisance of themselves while they forage the city streets for something they can eat — or some shiny object which they can steal.

Note: Thank you to Glenn — who is a reader of The Gate With Brian Cohen — for correctly pointing out that the photographs feature a silvered leaf langur and not a macaque, as originally incorrectly stated in this article.

Final Boarding Call

Please click here for a complete list of the Sunday Morning Photograph series of articles at The Gate, which include photographs taken of nature and sights of interest in many countries and territories around the world — including but not limited to:

  • Andorra
  • Argentina
  • Bahamas
  • Bahrain
  • Belarus
  • Brazil
  • Bulgaria
  • Canada
  • China
  • Colombia
  • Cyprus — including the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
  • Czechia or Czech Republic
  • Dominican Republic
  • Egypt
  • England in Great Britain in the United Kingdom
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Kenya
  • Latvia
  • Lebanon
  • Lesotho
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malaysia
  • Morocco
  • Mozambique
  • Netherlands
  • Oman
  • Panama
  • Poland
  • Romania
  • Singapore
  • Slovenia
  • South Africa
  • South Korea
  • Spain
  • Swaziland or Eswatini
  • Sweden
  • Thailand
  • United Arab Emirates
  • United States of America
  • Uruguay

All photographs ©2009 by Brian Cohen.

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