“Sharing is caring” but netizens give mixed responses over man offering water to monkey

SINGAPORE: To share or not to share? That is the question.

In today’s animal sighting news, a monkey was seen paying a visit to people out for a picnic. However, after one of the individuals was seen on video offering the monkey a drink of water, some netizens called out the act, pointing out that feeding wild animals is illegal. Others, however, saw it as an act of kindness.

“Sharing is caring.” This was the caption of a video shared on the Singapore Incidents Facebook group on Monday (Aug 14). The 13-second clip featured a small group seemingly out for a picnic. A monkey was seen in their midst, seated very calmly beside them. Towards the end of the video, one of the individuals was seen walking towards the monkey before crouching to offer the animal a drink of water.

Netizens seemed to have a mixed response to the video. While some found it funny and cute, others called out the individual who offered the animal water. Still, others disagreed and saw the act as a show of kindness.

“So sweet of them,” said one, while another commented, “Heart of gold.”

“This is what we call ‘humanity’,” said a third.

On the other hand, some disagreed with the person’s actions, with one saying, “It is an offense to feed wild animals.”

A few others even asked, “What’s so funny?”

However, one or two pointed out that monkeys are seen as sacred in some religions. “For most Hindus, they believe the monkey is the reincarnation of Hanuman,” said one, “And thus they believe in feeding or in this case giving water on a hot day as a form of gaining alms and also as an altruistic gesture to gain or earn more merits.”

What would you have done? Let us know in the comments section!