Girl, 12, mauled by vicious monkey as it sinks teeth into her neck on holiday

Lorena McDonald was enjoying a relaxing holiday on the Indonesian island getaway of Bali when she was attacked by the ferocious creatures, tuning her dream holiday into a nightmare

A 12-year-old girl has been seriously injured after being attacked by wild monkeys. The youngster was the victim of the attack, with one apes sinking its teeth into her neck.

Lorena McDonald, from the Aussie metropolis of Sydney, had been holidaying on the Indonesian island of Bali when she sustained the harrowing injuries. Her mother Flavia has now called for more protection for youngsters and issued an urgent warning for anyone looking to travel to the island.

To make matters worse for her family, Lorena was slapped with an eye-watering $6,000 (£2,930) for the medical care she received after being rushed to hospital. As a result, Lorena’s loved ones are now shelving out thousands for the incident.

Lorena was having a fun day out with her family at the Ubud Monkey Forest Sanctuary during a recent holiday, according to the Daily Mail. But her fun-filled day soon turned to horror after the primates began to attack her, leaving her with horrifying injuries and requiring emergency care.

Speaking to News.com.au, Flavia explained that the family had nothing that would automatically attract the monkeys to their family, adding they had “followed all the guidelines”, but were still targeted. “A monkey jumped on my husband’s shoulders… and within seconds it went from his shoulder to my daughter’s,” she explained.

“So the monkey started pulling at her shirt, her pockets, looking in her top,” Flavia recalled. “And as I got close to her to shush it away, within five seconds, it just bit her on the neck.”

Flavia revealed that Lorena was in need of a vital rabies vaccine for her daughter so that she could be saved of a potentially fatal illness. However, after finding one clinic that had vaccines available, she was left gobsmacked when she was forced to shelf out a whopping 60 million Indonesian rupiah — equivalent to £2,930 — for the treatment.

As a result of the injuries, Lorena’s family are now hoping that the travel insurance they took out ahead of the trip will reimburse their financial expenses. However, the stress of the incident has left mum Flavia overwhelmed and pleading with travellers to make sure they get their vaccines before going abroad.

On top of this, she told prospective holidaymakers to be “mindful”, whilst on the island, which is visited by thousands every year. It comes as Lorena becomes the latest in a series of people who have been mauled by the Balinese long-tailed monkey; most of which live at the Ubud Monkey Forest.

Back in 2019, Melbourne photographer Patrizia Accoglienza had been visiting the monkey sanctuary when an ape jumped on her shoulder and bit her neck, in a similar fashion to Lorena’s harrowing experience. The injury caused intense bleeding, with Patrizia admitting she had no idea how dangerous the monkeys could be.

“It happened so quickly, I was in total shock, and just pushed him off straight away,” she said. “He jumped to a nearby ledge and showed his teeth in an aggressive manner.”

She was eventually able to be treated for the bite in a hospital, but was hit with a total of $8,000 (£3,900) for medical bills. Thankfully for her, her medical costs were covered by her travel insurance.

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