A human can fight for a snack but apparently a gang of monkeys too. In Thailand, the monkeys in Lopburi have been fed less by tourists since the corona crisis. And that can lead to a real battle between monkey gangs. At a busy intersection, motorists have the shock of their lives in their car when two gangs of hundreds of monkeys fight it out.
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Spectator Itiphat said: “I was in a building near the temple when I heard the monkeys screaming. They even started to wrestle.” Local residents believe that one of the troops is roaming the grounds of the ancient temple – a popular tourist attraction where locals feed them – while the other gang emerges from an abandoned cinema a little further away.
It often happens that monkey gangs fight over food, but now that foreign tourists are absent for longer and longer, the fight for food is getting bigger. With real fights as a result.
Local officials have also tried to control monkey numbers by rolling out mass sterilization programs. Supakarn Kaewchot, a government vet, said: “The monkeys are so used to tourists feeding them and the city has no space for them to fend for themselves.”
Now that the tourists are gone, the monkey gangs are becoming more aggressive and have already fought with humans to find food. “They invade buildings and force locals to flee their homes,” the vet said.
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