2013, Nature , 2nd prize singles , Ali Lutfi

05 December 2012
Solo, Indonesia

A long-tailed macaque, wearing patchwork clothing and a doll’s head, performs in Solo, Central Java. The monkeys are generally purchased at an animal market and trained to carry out such activities as walking on stilts, riding bicycles, or simply begging.

Once a popular children’s entertainment in villages, performing monkeys are increasingly becoming a feature of life in the city, where their minders use them to earn money from waiting motorists at traffic intersections. A monkey can bring in around €4 a day. 

Macaques are not endangered, but concerns have been raised about the welfare of performing animals, particularly as numbers in cities increase. http://www.worldpressphoto.org/awards/2013/nature/ali-lutfi?gallery=6096