SINGAPORE: A video of macaques nimbly climbing down the side of an HDB block at Jalan Besar went certifiably viral over the weekend, getting over 2 million views on TikTok.
The long-tailed primates were awe-inspiring as they easily scaled the building to the point of inspiring comparisons with Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible.
@ladyv_victoria He shoots, She shoots, I also shoot la! 美猴王们大闹 Jalan Besar 😂 . . #monkeyinaction #monkeys #monkeytiktok #monkey @Stomp Singapore @Mothership @The Straits Times
In the video, uploaded by Ms Victoria Loh (@ladyv_victoria), a woman can be heard saying “Wow” over and over again as the macaques, without seemingly having anything to hold on to, effortlessly make their way down the side of the block, which has been identified as being located at Block 633 Veerasamy Road.
There have been over 2,800 comments on the video, and one popular one was when a TikTok user asked, “Can you put the mission impossible sound?”
In fairness, the monkeys do look like they’ve just carried out a heist.
“My bad my bad! Cannot redo sia 😅,” wrote Ms Loh.
A highly-amused Ms Loh also called it “better” than SCDF training.
“Goodness how many duplicates of my brother are there,” another joked.
“The one sliding down be like: weeeee,” another TikTok user chimed in.
One pointed out, “This is why you don’t leave your doors open on the balcony. You never know who will enter your apartment looking for food.”
When a commenter noted that Ms Loh had so many “wows,” she said she feared the monkeys would jump on her.
According to the International Union of the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, most macaque species are listed as vulnerable to critically endangered.
An article on the NParks site says, “The long-tailed macaque is the only commonly seen species of monkey in Singapore. Its population numbers some 1,500 individuals. Most dwell in and on the fringes of our rainforest nature reserves – the Bukit Timah and the Central Catchment Nature Reserves. They also occupy parks such as Bukit Batok Nature Park, Yishun Park and Admiralty Park, as well as Sisters Islands and Pulau Ubin.”
/TISG
Macaque pickpockets MacRitchie Reservoir visitor’s mobile phone before dropping it in the water