Lopburi, a town in central Thailand, has been overrun by an ever-growing population of wild monkeys, prompting authorities to take action against the simian raiders.
On Friday, they launched an offensive using trickery and ripe tropical fruit to reduce the animals’ numbers and restore order to the town.
The first stage of the plan involves baiting cages with the monkeys’ favorite food, such as rambutan fruit, and waiting for their hunger to overcome their natural caution. The strategy proved successful on the first day, with three macaques falling for the ruse and ending up trapped on one street. The cages had been placed earlier in the week to allow the monkeys to become accustomed to their presence.
With an estimated 2,500 monkeys roaming the town, the capture of the unlucky trio and around 30 others in different parts of the town only slightly reduced the total population. The effort will continue for five days this month and is likely to be repeated in the future. However, some monkeys will be left free to maintain Lopburi’s image as Thailand’s monkey town.
Patarapol Maneeorn from Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation acknowledged the challenges posed by the monkeys’ intelligence, noting that once some are caught, others may learn from their friends’ misfortune and avoid the cages.
The roaming monkeys have long been a symbol of the town and a major tourist draw, but their increasingly aggressive behavior, captured in widely shared online videos, has caused problems for residents and businesses alike. Some shop owners have resorted to erecting wire barriers to keep the light-fingered primates at bay.
Mayor Chamroen Salacheep recognizes that while the monkeys bring in visitors, they have also become detrimental to trade and have even damaged people’s homes. He plans to clean and paint buildings across the town to regain the faith of the people once the operation is complete.
Despite the current challenges, there is a plan to give the captured monkeys a fresh start. Authorities have begun sedating them to conduct health checks, clean and sterilize them, and ink them with tattoos for identification purposes.
The monkeys will then be transferred to large holding pens outside the town center while a permanent home is sought.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.