Monkey Business on Bali: Macaque Steals Tourist's Phone and Fills Gallery with Hilarious Selfies
14:40 29 June, 2026A British tourist was left stunned after a brazen monkey snatched his phone right out of his hands at a popular temple in Bali. The primate vanished into the jungle for over an hour but didn't waste any time, filling the device's memory with its own close-up selfies, the Daily Mail reports.
19-year-old Oliver Lloyd from Telford was visiting the famous Uluwatu Temple in Bali, Indonesia, on June 15, when a long-tailed macaque suddenly ripped the gadget from his grip. The animal instantly disappeared into the thick brush, leaving Oliver and his girlfriend to comb through the area with temple security amid hundreds of other macaques.
After more than an hour of searching, the couple managed to pinpoint the exact location of the phone using the Life360 tracking app on his girlfriend’s smartphone. A temple warden managed to track down the furry thief and successfully returned the device to its owner.
The Ultimate Photo Shoot
When Oliver checked his camera roll, he discovered that the mischievous monkey had managed to record a long video and snap several tight-frame selfies while clutching the gadget tightly in its paws. "I was just taking a few photos of the monkeys to send to friends," Oliver, a finance apprentice, recalled. "I lowered my hand with the phone toward my pocket for literally a second, and I heard my girlfriend scream my name. At that exact moment, they yanked the phone right out of my hand. It was gone into the jungle instantly, and there were hundreds of identical monkeys around."
While the search was still underway, Oliver's girlfriend jokingly remarked: "Imagine if the monkeys took a selfie on your phone." "I looked in the gallery and was totally blown away: there was an entire video recorded and actual selfies taken," Oliver shared. "It’s just amazing. He [the primate] even managed to get his own nipples in the frame!"
Although the smartphone's screen protector ended up heavily scratched after its jungle adventure, the priceless shots from the "professional" furry photographer were definitely worth the stress.