No more monkey mania as Thai city clamps down

Marauding monkeys will not look slingshots immoderate much successful nan historical Thai metropolis of Lopburi, wherever they person been rounded up and sterilised aft turning rampant complete nan past 4 years.

Before COVID-19 unopen Lopburi, immoderate of its 58,000 residents casually fed nan 3,000 long-tailed macaques that lived alongside them and moreover threw an yearly consequence banquet for them, drafting visitors to nan “Monkey City,” which sits 3 hours thrust northbound of Bangkok.

The macaques, believed to bring bully fortune, besides inhabit adjacent forests and person agelong been a portion of nan city’s history. But aft Lopburi came retired of nan pandemic lockdown successful mid-2022, its residents recovered that without group feeding them, nan monkeys had go unruly.

Troops of macaques had taken complete buildings, often confronting residents, stealing nutrient and causing accidents. Gangs of monkeys engaged successful wide brawls.

“Their method is robbery – by each means,” said Wisarut Somngam, a section interrogator pinch Ecoexist Society, a nongovernmental organisation. “They were fresh to snatch thing disconnected your hands, immoderate bags they fishy incorporate nutrient aliases items for illustration mobile phones.”

Small children, aged women and moreover policemen carried astir slingshots to effort and scare distant nan macaques.

As complaints mounted this year, authorities equipped pinch slingshots and traps sprang into action to drawback nan primates that had wrought havoc and moreover frightened immoderate residents into putting up metallic bars astatine their homes for protection.

“We person to cage ourselves inside, we person nary state moreover connected nan premises of our ain homes,” said Jirat Buapromart, 54. “They are fresh to bargain thing they tin from us.”

By May, authorities stepped up nan push against nan monkeys, including boosting sterilisation efforts that began during nan pandemic.

“Our extremity is to neuter each nan monkeys, 100 percent of them,” section veterinarian Patarapol Maneeorn from nan authorities wildlife section said successful September.

The monkeys would past beryllium put into a designated area wherever they will beryllium looked after, he said.

Five months aft nan commencement of nan government’s campaign, Lopburi’s primate pandemonium has yet travel nether control, pinch astir 1,600 monkeys successful captivity.

Some animal authorities groups work together pinch authorities connected neutering nan monkeys, but not putting them successful cages.

“The monkeys are suffering because presently they’re successful a cage that is not designed for them,” said Edwin Wiek, laminitis of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand. “It’s not due for them.”

Wiek pressed nan authorities to summation backing to nan Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, which has unit trained successful animal attraction and treatment.

For immoderate residents, nan return of calm connected nan streets of Lopburi is simply a relief. “Things person go a small easier because astir of nan monkeys were captured. Life is easier,” said clockmaker Chalit Nithiwkram, 64.

Business was besides improving, he said: “If location were monkeys, nary customers would situation to travel by and parkland their cars here.”

For others, Lopburi and its monkeys are inseparable.

“Monkeys are portion of Lopburi’s identity,” said Supaporn Reanprayoorn, 38, who runs a shop adjacent a temple wherever monkeys often gathered. She sometimes gave them snacks.

“Let visitors return pictures pinch them – conscionable a 100 aliases two.”