Patience is not a virtue for macaques. They carefully monitor the movements around them, and if they see any interesting food in someone’s hand, they attack. They are also not a stranger to reaching into a tourist’s bag and helping themselves to whatever seems interesting. Of course, their target is food, but they can’t always judge what is edible from a distance. So they also grab sunglasses, wallets, water bottles… When they realize their prey is not edible, they contemptuously throw it on the floor and continue hunting. Welcome to Lopburi, a Thai city ruled by monkeys. About 4,500 run wild in the streets, create chaos, and are a real tourist attraction. Although they know they could be left without their snack or some object, tourists enthusiastically come to see the macaque population that has lived here for centuries.
Monkey Temple
The central location in the city is Pra Prang Sam Yod, better known as the Monkey Temple. The temple was built in the 13th century in an area surrounded by dense forest. It was initially a Hindu shrine and later dedicated to Buddha. Over the years, a city grew up around the temple. The forest disappeared, and the monkeys remained. Their natural food source disappeared with the forest, so they quickly depended on humans for food. The locals did not mind them; they were used to living with them. They believed that these long-tailed macaques were living representatives of the Hindu god Hanuman and symbols of good luck.
How trouble began
Although many monkeys have been in the city, their numbers exploded after the Monkey Festival was organized in 1989. It was conceived as a tourist attraction and a way of worshiping Jao Paw Phra Kan, who was believed to protect the city. And while coexistence with the monkeys began with the belief that they protected the city, things have since gotten out of hand, to say the least.
Locals sell tourists snacks for the monkeys and sweet juices they especially like, but the long-tailed animals will often treat themselves. They do not choose what to reach for. To bring some order and make money from tourists, locals made small slingshots with which they chased the monkeys away when they rushed to their stalls. Local authorities only started monitoring the monkey population in 2018. As of September 2020, just over 9,000 macaques have been counted in the entire region and 4,635 in the city.
Locals now admit that the increase in furry neighbours has disrupted the quality of their daily lives. They invade homes in search of food; their feces pollute the water… With the pandemic’s arrival and the country’s closure to tourists, things have gotten even worse. Accustomed to the daily feast and sweets tourists receive, the monkeys have become even more aggressive in their search for food in the absence of this.
The shortage during the pandemic has led to a real showdown between monkey gangs! Namely, the city has three main groups of monkeys and several smaller ones, each controlling a particular area. The “war” broke out over a bottle of sweet condensed milk they spotted as potential prey. They attacked the person carrying it, which escalated into a real monkey fight.
Is there a solution to this problem?
Lopburi macaques love lovely human food because they have been used to it for years. However, it is not suitable for them. In addition to rotting their teeth, this diet makes them reproduce faster. That is why an extensive campaign is now underway to sterilise the monkeys and bring their number to a tolerable level. However, the process is slow and could take years.
In addition to being known worldwide for its hundreds of mischievous macaque monkeys, this ancient Thai city, located north of Bangkok, hides another treasure. This fascinating history goes back more than a thousand years.
Lopburi was an important stronghold during the Khmer Empire and later the capital of Thailand during the reign of King Narai the Great in the 17th century. Its architecture bears witness to a blend of Hindu, Buddhist, and Persian influences, making it one of the most interesting cities for history and culture lovers.