I could not understand why anyone would want to buy an angry looking stuffed tiger. Its gaping mouth and serious demeanour were far from endearing or cutesy to cuddle up to. I first saw many of these stern looking animals in Kampung Cherating, a holiday village in Pahang. They were being sold in sundry shops (which I thought was unusual) together with beach paraphernalia such as rubber rings, swimwear, T-shirts and shorts (more unusual).

I also saw a bunch of these stuffed tigers at the Banjaran Hotsprings Resort. They sat strategically on the wooden railings and window sills of the resort’s Pomelo Restaurant, on the roof of buggies that transported guests and staff as well as inside the villas. Apparently, these toy tigers acted as monkey deterrents; stopping them from stealing food and drinks, frightening or attacking guests and entering the villas.

This monkey business seemed a little over the top and funny to me until I saw how the fridge in our villa was Fort-Knoxed. Images of the comedy series – ‘Get Smart’ – where Agent Smart had to walk through many layers of doors to make a telephone call using his shoe also came to mind. Locked and located inside a tightly latched wooden cupboard was our mini fridge. The key to this little fridge was attached to a wire that was fixed to the side of the wooden cupboard. Yes, seriously. This was the first time I had used a key to open a fridge. My husband and I could not help but laugh and marvel at the situation.

The level of security was impressive. And, the target of the intended security was even more impressive. The monkeys residing in the area are obviously pretty darn smart, observant and resourceful. So, surely they must have caught on that the tiger-guards were fake. Especially as all of them were similar in design; sitting and open mouthed.  Yes and no. I was told that some of the older and bigger monkeys knew the tigers were imposters, and merrily carried on with their mischief. The younger, little ones appeared to be unaware of this, and stayed clear of what they perceived as dangerous enemies.

To further strengthen security and instil fear amongst the more brazen monkeys, staff at the resort have been known to roar like a tiger, ala Katy Perry, while they went about their daily chores. They also varied the positions of the static tigers from top to bottom and left to right on ledges, moved them around at entrances and gazebos, and alternated between the roof and seats of buggies to give the impression that the tigers were on the move. We were also advised to place our tiger-guard prominently and in-full view of possible simian intruders. Physically shifting where our tiger-guard sat, now and again, was a good idea too.

I am not sure how effective these tiger-guards actually are in controlling monkey prowlers but we did not see a single primate while we were at the Banjaran Hotsprings. And, we covered a lot of ground at the resort. We traversed the pavements that connected all the three types of accommodation namely the Garden, Water and Lake Villas. We did the same routes so many times that we started to notice and appreciate some very unique and beautiful flowers and their perfectly shaped petals, as well as numerous multi-hued leaves and different types of plants that hedged the pavements. Much thought, planning and huge amounts of money have been invested and continue to be invested in this brilliantly landscaped environment that is so well maintained. Good job.

We did the jungle walk and wandered to the meditation cave, waterfall, yoga platform, steam cave, and the dipping, swimming and geothermal pools. We had our feet nibbled at by hungry little fish at the Dr Fish pond. We ate ‘ice-cream potong’ or ice-lollies available from the back of the aptly named ‘sweet spot’ tree during our meanderings. We heard rustling leaves, hooting noises up in the trees and even had little fruits fall on us. But no monkeys. We trekked outside the resort; walking past the staff parking area, a little lake and a limestone hill that took us back to a gate just outside Villa 39. It was in this quiet and tranquil area, devoid of people and construction works, at least for now, where we discovered to our surprise a small variety of attractive multi-coloured, albeit little birds, perched on a power line. A National Geographic moment. But no monkeys. Our trip to the top of the entrance road, along a river, a waterlily pond, and a temple didn’t yield monkeys either.

Now, I understand why and who buys these mean looking stuffed tigers. The tiger-guards did their job and certainly managed to deter marauding monkeys, at least, during our stay at the Banjaran Hotsprings Resort.