Besides its famous history, Lopburi, Thailand is also popular among travellers who love to visit to see the monkeys that roam the city.
However, months of tension between local humans and monkeys led a group of people to put up signs protesting the monkeys’ presence on 21 April.
The very next day, monkeys in the area tore down the signs.
According to Thairath, aggrieved locals put up signs on 21 April protesting against the Thai Department of National Parks and monkey tourism.
The signs bore messages asking officials to catch the monkeys and release them into the wild. There were also signs questioning whether tourists came to Lopburi to experience its rich history or just to look at the monkeys.
Source: Thairath
At 6pm the following day, locals were greeted with an unusual sight. While monkeys typically retire for the evening, on 22 April, they came out in droves.
Source: Thairath
The monkeys bit, tore and destroyed more than 30 signs that were put up.
Like many other cities in Thailand, Lopburi benefits greatly from tourism. One of the city’s major draws is monkeys roaming the streets and coexisting with human residents.
There’s even the Monkey Buffet Festival near the end of the year where locals show appreciation for the monkeys.
However, an increasing number of monkey issues has been causing local opinions to sour.
Source: Sasaluk Rattanachai on Facebook
These include the famous story two years ago when a monkey turf war brought the city to a standstill. A horde of monkeys descended on the city out of hunger caused by Covid-19 travel restrictions, which meant tourists were no longer feeding them.
A joint taskforce comprising the local government and the armed forces have been working to capture the monkeys and relocate them to a facility, noted Daily News.
Also read: Woman warns hikers to beware after monkey bites her, snatches her bag at Chestnut Nature Park
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Featured image adapted from Thairath and Thairath.
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