A girl got a painful lesson in wildlife feeding when an ungrateful monkey she had given a box of fruit to slapped her across the face.

CHEEKY MONKEY: Moody Macaque Slaps Girl's Face from News X on Vimeo.

The girl had been on a visit to a national park in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, eastern China, when she stopped to feed one of a troop of macaques.

Phone footage shows her carefully setting down a box of sliced pineapple on a wooden rail beside one of the monkeys as she films it on her phone.

Then without warning the macaque flies at her slapping her wildly across her right cheek.

As she staggers back she walks down from the viewing platform and the footage ends.

The other visitors gasped at the attack and quickly stepped aside.

Staff from the park’s management later responded to the incident, stating that if a visitor is injured by the monkeys they should contact them.

Entry tickets cover insurance and medical treatment, they said.

Staff reminded tourists that it is forbidden to feed the wild macaques because it is likely the animals will misunderstand the gesture and try to act in self-defence.

They also said a large crowd can make the monkeys react nervously.

Afterwards, the video was shared on Douyin – China’s version of TikTok – where many netizens poked fun at the way the monkey reminded the girl of the park’s rules.

Douyin user ‘Cc, Aze’ commented: “Monkey: I told you that feeding is forbidden, why don’t you listen?”