The first time I saw him, he was curled up beneath a tangle of roots—small, shivering, and completely alone. I had come to Angkor Wat to film the macaques at sunrise, but what I found instead was something far deeper than any documentary frame could ever capture.
He couldn’t have been more than a few weeks old. His fur was messy, his tiny tail limp, and his eyes… Oh, his eyes. Wide and searching, soaked in tears. He didn’t make a sound when I approached—he only looked up at me as if I were the one answer he had left.
At first, I thought his mother might be nearby. Maybe she had just gone to forage. I waited. Five minutes. Ten. Then twenty. But the troop was gone. Long gone. And this tiny stump-tailed macaque had been left behind.
When I reached out slowly, he flinched. Then, with a surprising burst of courage, he grabbed my finger—tight. Like a child refusing to be left behind again. He brought my hand close, clutched it with both of his, and started sobbing—quiet, but so unmistakably human it sent chills down my spine.
I sat there, letting him cry. I whispered gently, though he didn’t understand the words:
“I won’t leave you.”
He nestled into my arm. His breath came in tiny hiccups. My camera, still rolling nearby, had captured everything—but in that moment, I no longer cared about footage.
He tried to follow when I stood up. Tripping over his own feet, he hugged my ankle like a child desperate not to lose the one thing he still trusted. And so, I stayed.
The Angkor Wat forest is home to hundreds of macaques, each fighting for survival. But this baby had no one to fight for him.
Maybe he had been rejected for being weak. Maybe his mother had died during a troop conflict. I’ll never know the reason. But I do know what I felt: heartbreak.
Over the next hour, I gave him a few drops of water and shared a small banana I had brought along. He wasn’t strong enough to peel it, so I did it for him. He munched slowly, still clinging to my hand between every bite.
Locals passed by. Some smiled. Others shook their heads, used to seeing baby monkeys left behind. But for me, it wasn’t just “another monkey.” This was a soul. A frightened, grieving baby who had just lost everything.
I stayed until the sun began to set, unsure of what would happen to him after I left. I contacted a local wildlife volunteer group that promised to check in. But when I finally rose to leave, his cries started again. He hugged my leg. And again, I knelt down, and this time… I cried with him.
There’s something about holding a creature who doesn’t speak your language but still knows how to plead that breaks your heart in a way you’ll never forget.
This wasn’t just about animal behavior. This was about connection.
He followed me until the very edge of the temple path, where forest turns to stone. When I whispered goodbye, he touched my hand one last time. Then slowly, he sat, as if accepting that I had to go.
I return often. I always look for him. Sometimes I think I hear a familiar cry in the trees, and I hope it’s him—stronger now. Maybe with a new troop. Maybe not.
But I will always remember the moment that little baby reached for me, hugged my hand, and said, in his own language:
“Please… don’t go.”