Since the corona pandemic, tourists have stayed away in Lopburi, the monkeys are starving and continue to penetrate the city. The animals are slowly becoming a threat.
Lopburi – The Thai city of Lopburi has an animal problem. In the “city of the monkeys” the biggest tourist magnet is becoming more and more of a nuisance. In the beginning Lopburi was known for its ancient temples, but for a long time it has been the numerous long-tailed macaques in particular that attract thousands of tourists to the Thai province. Since the Corona * pandemic, the number of visitors in the region – as almost everywhere – has fallen dramatically. This has a significant impact on the lives of the people and monkeys in the small town.
So far, the primates lived mainly in the old temple complexes around Lopburi and were worshiped – and above all fed – by the locals and tourists. Once a year, in November, the city in Thailand even holds a “monkey festival”, at which the animals at the “Prong Sam Yot” monkey temple are served tons of fruit and sweets. The so-called “Monkey Buffet Festival” is intended to thank the monkeys for promoting tourism in the city.
Fights and break-ins: Monkey gangs are becoming a problem in Lopburi, Thailand
Around 4,500 monkeys are currently believed to live in Lopbri and are increasingly grouping together in gangs that are becoming a real threat to the residents. The Lopburi Monkey Foundation told CNN. “In addition to three main gangs, there are several small groups scattered across the city. Each group protects its territory with all severity, “said a spokesman.
In addition, the monkey gangs not only fight each other and thus paralyze the whole city more and more often. Due to the lack of tourists in the corona pandemic, there is no longer enough food for the many monkeys in Lopburi. The animals are starving and looking for food more and more aggressively. To do this, they even break into houses, cars and shops, no longer just looting rubbish bins, but also shelves and refrigerators. Videos repeatedly show the full extent of the monkey plague in the small Thai town. In addition to the traffic obstructions and the destruction, the excrement of the animals is also rampant on the streets and creates a beastly smell.
Monkeys take over town in Thailand: sterilization ordered
The monkeys in Lopburi also reproduce very quickly. The government had already announced in summer 2020 that it would sterilize at least 500 animals. Resettlement of the animals in the forest is not possible because they are now too used to the city and cannot survive there, the responsible wildlife authority said at the time. They were also difficult to capture. However, it will take a long time before the sterilizations are successful, so that the animals will have the city north of Bangkok largely under their control even a year after the decision. (iwe)
Header list image: © Jack Taylor / afp
