Almost 100 monkeys broke out of an enclosure Tuesday morning, sending wildlife officials in Thailand scrambling to recapture them as they entered nearby residential areas.
The monkeys broke out of the Lopburi Municipality Animal Nursery in the Mueang Lopburi district’s Pho Kao Ton subdistrict. The staff kept over 1,000 additional monkeys in the same facility from escaping.
Hoping to stop the monkeys from harming the community, Lopburi Mayor Chamroen Salacheep ordered the local police and other agencies to capture them, prompting a large-scale operation, according to reports.
According to the mayor, some of the animals stayed close by after escaping, while others willingly went back to the enclosure. Authorities said they intend to construct a more secure double-layer enclosure as a long-term strategy to prevent the monkeys from escaping again.
While staff strengthened and rebuilt the damaged enclosure, officials were able to recapture some of the monkeys. Officials positioned food-baited cages throughout the area to entice other monkeys back, but some of the more dominant ones proved challenging to capture and required tranquilizer darts.
The mayor asked residents whose property was impacted to report it so authorities could provide appropriate support.
The city has a long and troubled history with monkeys
The municipality, which is well-known for its yearly Monkey Buffet celebration, used to be home to a sizable population of long-tailed macaques that roamed freely and frequently turned violent in their quest for food.
In 2020, thousands of “sex-crazed” monkey gangs terrorized Lopburi residents and took over portions of their city. A year later, thanks in part to the pandemic, a lack of visitors caused these same rival monkey gangs to violently brawl in the streets.
Then again, in 2024, another roving gang of monkeys essentially took over Lopburi. Things got so bad that police in the city had to arm themselves with slingshots and tranquilizer guns to fend off violent macaques.
However, in 2024, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation issued directives to capture and place approximately 2,500 of them in enclosures. The almost 100 monkeys that escaped on Tuesday were part of those enclosures.