Special unit must chase away thousands of aggressive monkeys from Thai city

NOS News•today, 1:53 PM

A special police unit has been set up in the Thai city of Lopburi to control thousands of aggressive monkeys. After previous failed attempts, the new method is reportedly much more effective, reports the Bangkok Post.

The new unit has been active since Monday and is equipped with catapults to chase away the cheeky monkeys. Previously, the police used tranquilizer darts for the macaques, but because they only worked after 5 minutes, the animals could flee or climb onto buildings.

For years, thousands of monkeys have been plaguing the lives of residents in the Thai city. Although the animals were initially a tourist attraction from which the city benefited, things took a turn for the worse during the corona crisis. The animals, which were no longer fed by the many tourists, became more aggressive and resourceful.

A few years ago, The Guardian made the video below about the thousands of monkeys:

Residents are so desperate that terraces and gardens are protected with nets and bars. “We live in a cage and the monkeys live outside,” one of the residents told The Guardian at the time.

A mass sterilization program also failed to reduce the monkey population. In fact, because the monkeys drank sweet drinks, breakfast cereals and sweets, their sex lives were actually stimulated. “The more they eat, the more energy they have and so they reproduce more,” says one of the owners of a temple in the area.

The new catapults of the specially created unit must now chase the monkeys away and get them out of the city. The macaques are a protected species under the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act. According to a recent study, about 5,700 monkeys live in the Lopburi province of the same name.