Hundreds of monkeys engaged in running battles in Lopburi city, footage of which was wowing the internets today.
“Wow! Even cars have to stop for them,” someone shouts in one clip posted online by Sasaluk Rattanachai.
Big armies of macaques waged war on a main road downtown in the central province famous for its monkeys who are rather infamously very, very naughty.
But their populations in recent years have been growing unmanageable, and many residents told reporters they had never seen such a big fight before. They blamed the current drought crisis and a lack of food for the simian strife over food offerings at Phra Kan Shrine, where the incident took place.
Macaques are a great nuisance in parts of Thailand where human development has brought people into proximity – and feeding range – of their populations. It doesn’t help that, every November, Lopburi hosts a festival treating the hungry monkeys to a “banquet.”
Back in 2014, the authorities even began a program to train and deputize some larger gibbons and langurs into a kind of monkey police force to rein in the very, very, naughty macaques who terrorize residents.
Related:
Monkey Meals: Macaques in Thailand now use tools to crack nuts, shuck oysters
Macaque Massacre: At least 19 Thai monkeys found dead due to suspected poisoning
Young macaque passes out after binging on coffee stolen from human’s cup (PHOTOS)
Rescued monkeys to be trained as police force
Urban creep provokes simian retribution
Super Monkey Fiesta: Lopburi’s 2014 simian food fight in photos
