Toronto Star

Monkeying about no more

- JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHA­I

Thai wildlife officials laid out a plan on Wednesday to bring peace to a central Thai city after at least a decade of human-monkey conflict.

The macaques that roam Lopburi are a symbol of local culture and a major tourist draw. But after years of dangerous encounters with residents and visitors and several failed attempts to bring peace with pop- ulation controls, local people and businesses have had enough.

The monkeys frequently try to snatch food from humans, sometimes resulting in tussles that can leave people with scratches and other injuries. But outrage grew in March when a woman dislocated her knee after a monkey pulled her off her feet in an effort to grab food, and another man was knocked off a motor- cycle by a hungry monkey.

Authoritie­s hope to round up about 2,500 urban monkeys and place them in massive enclosures, said Athapol Charoenshu­nsa, the director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservati­on. They’ll work with wildlife experts to find a way for a limited number of monkeys to stay at liberty in the city, he added.

“I don’t want humans to have to hurt monkeys, and I don’t want monkeys to have to hurt humans,” he told reporters during a news conference in Bangkok.

An official monkey catching campaign was launched week, prioritizi­ng more aggressive alpha males. It has caught 37 monkeys so far, most of which have been placed under the care of wildlife authoritie­s in the neighbouri­ng province of Saraburi, while others were sent to the Lopburi zoo.

Officials said they plan to capture the rest of the monkeys once the enclosures are complete, especially those in the residentia­l areas. Separate cages will be prepared for different troops of monkeys to prevent them from fighting.

Athapol said he expects the first phase of the opera- tion to start within weeks, and believes the huge cages will be able to contain thousands of them and “will solve the problem very quickly.”

The monkeys are a symbol of the province, about 140 kilometres north of Bangkok, where the ancient Three Pagodas temple celebrates an annual “Monkey Buffet” festival, and they’re commonly seen throughout the city. Macaques are classified as a protected species under Thailand’s wildlife conservati­on law.

Previous control measure have fallen short. From 2014-2023, wildlife authoritie­s neutered about 2,600 Lopburi monkeys.

 ?? LAUREN DECICCA GETTY IMAGES FILE PHOTO ?? The macaques that roam the city of Lopburi are a symbol of local culture and a big tourist draw.
LAUREN DECICCA GETTY IMAGES FILE PHOTO The macaques that roam the city of Lopburi are a symbol of local culture and a big tourist draw.

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