Gangs of monkeys are waging war in Thailand, terrorizing the population and scaring tourists

A real war has unfolded in one of the tourist centers of Thailand, the city of Lopburi, between two gangs of monkeys. It is not the first day that hundreds of aggressive macaques have been bullying each other and staging a massacre right in the middle of busy streets, interfering with passers-by and cars. One would think that this news is from the category of an April Fool's joke, but the city authorities are clearly not laughing: tourists are already afraid to go to the city of monkeys, and locals, on the contrary, try to get away from their unsafe native places.

A special police unit has been established in the city to combat macaques. Armed with slingshots and tranquilizers, they have managed to capture more than 20 aggressive individuals since March 26. But the security forces consider the neutralization of the alpha male, nicknamed Ai Krao, to be a special success. However, his brothers raised such a cry that the police had to retreat under the onslaught of the raging primates.

According to law enforcement officers, it is not easy to catch alpha males, since they are smarter and more cunning than other monkeys, do not bite at bait, and besides, they understand the language of the human body well and manage to play ahead of the curve. At the same time, it is strictly forbidden for security forces to use live ammunition against monkeys, since these animals are considered one of the symbols of the city and are under the protection of the authorities.

Before the beginning of the "monkey" era, tourists rarely paid attention to a small town 150 km from Bangkok. Old-timers no longer remember when exactly Lopburi were chosen by these cute at first glance monkeys with a dark crest on their heads, light mustaches and even sideburns. This species of macaque monkeys from the marmoset family is taken under state protection, they are forbidden to kill, so over the years they have multiplied so much that they began to terrorize the population in search of treats. Attempts to curb their reproduction through sterilization have not been successful. Now, according to reports, more than 5,000 monkeys live in Lopburi with a population of 50,000 people, and the authorities are developing a program for their partial relocation to other areas.

But so far, the macaques are gaining the upper hand: in February, a 3,500-strong army of primates invaded the city center, capturing one of the districts. Several companies had to shut down operations, close their stores and leave Lopburi for security reasons.