They are at “war” in Lopburi. Yes, it is a war, with all the quotes in the world, both because of its course and the enemy it is declared against. This Thai city, the capital of the province of the same name and located 150 kilometers from Bangkok, has long been known for its heritage and monkey population. Especially for the latter. Hundreds and thousands of crab-eating macaques live in Lopburi, which has become one of the biggest tourist attractions. The problem is that now the monkeys are legion; A hungry herd of animals is already affecting the local economy.

And of course the Lopburi authorities decided to counter them by implementing a program that hoped to capture most of them with the help of fruits and cages.

A city taken over by monkeys. The connection between Lopburi and monkeys isn’t exactly new. The city is actually known for its population of great monkeys and crab-eating macaques (Macaca fascicularis) is centered around the Prang Sam Yot temple, which gives it a certain popularity among tourists visiting Thailand. This situation, which until recently was a sign of difference and attraction for visitors, has now become a responsibility.

The problem has reached such extreme levels that in February South China Morning Post He assured that the macaques were already affecting trade and that Lopburi was at risk of turning into a “ghost town”. And it’s all because of the thousands of monkeys living there.

Do they cause this much discomfort? The Hong Kong newspaper explains that monkeys sneak into commercial premises, disturb them, damage shops and buildings, and deter customers from businesses. As an example, he gives the example of the Pingya shopping centre, which saw how the macaques frightened its buyers, prompting the business to put it up for sale and reduce its rents.

“A Chinese investor visited the area to check the viability of an investment,” Surachat Cnaprasit from the commercial district told the newspaper. “When he realized the monkey problem, he postponed the investment indefinitely.”

stretching the rope. In any case, the Lopburi monkeys have left an economic reward: They attract tourists to the province who want to see them, feed them, and hang a photo posing with them. selfie curious. But over the years, balancing the town’s daily life and its tourist appeal has become a challenge, as Pongsatorn Chaichanapanich recently explained: “The government needs to decide how to develop Lopburi as a historical town and help promote tourism and more visitors in the state.” You can withdraw.

In some cases, macaques themselves took part, which contributed to the tightening of the rope even further. AP News explains that monkeys sometimes try to take food from humans, which can lead to fights. In March, a woman dislocated her knee after a monkey hit her on the back while trying to take food from her. Another man fell off his motorcycle for a very similar reason: a monkey was trying to take a bag of food from him.

How many monkeys are we talking about? Of a few. Although numbers sometimes vary depending on the source, they indicate a well-fed population of thousands of macaques. in february South China Morning Post 3,500 monkeys were mentioned in April (up from just over 3,000 reported in 2021) Guardian He pointed to 5,700 without specifying whether he was referring to the city, region, or province; and CBS recently reviewed nearly 2,500.

The figures give an idea of ​​the large number of monkeys in Lopburi, where tourists come to feed them fruit and photograph them. Aware of the problem, authorities launched a sterilization campaign years ago between 2014 and 2023, sterilizing approximately 2,600 specimens.

“Increased significantly”. “There are people who like monkeys, and there are people who don’t. I think the monkey population has increased significantly compared to ten years ago,” explains local resident Job Jirapat. “It’s a good long-term solution.” “It may not have been able to continue due to lack of finance, which is why the number of monkeys is increasing so rapidly,” he adds.

Search for solution. The situation reached such extreme levels that it was decided to take action again on the issue in Lopburi. Like? Capturing macaques and taking them off the streets and transporting them to indoor areas. In order not to lose the essence of the town and one of its major tourist attractions, they will preserve part of it, but significantly reduce its population. The attack started days ago and fruit baits and cages are being used to capture and transport them to other locations.

CBS News notes that the effort will last several days this month and will likely be repeated. “Thanks to the monkeys’ intelligence, if some of them get into the cage and get trapped, the ones outside will not come in to look for food,” adds Maneorn from the University of Thailand, Patarapol.

Purpose: coexistence. “I don’t want humans to have to harm monkeys, and I don’t want monkeys to have to harm humans,” says Athapol Charoenshunsa of the national parks and wildlife department. The plan’s figures also vary from one source to another, but in each case they reflect that the goal is to significantly alleviate the macaque population.

AP News states that authorities will consider reuniting about 2,500 monkeys and moving them to larger areas, where a “limited number” of monkeys will continue to live freely in the city. Weeks ago, authorities launched an effort to capture 37 specimens, prioritizing the most aggressive males.

Pictures | Jbarcena (Flickr), Hugo van den Bos (Flickr) and Sébastien (Flickr)

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