Originally published 2020-03-23.
In March 2020, a short phone video from Lopburi in central Thailand went around the world: a swarm of long-tailed macaques pouring across a street, screaming and chasing one another in what looked like an all-out gang war. Reports said the brawl broke out over a single piece of food, and the explanation that spread with it was simple. As the coronavirus outbreak emptied Thailand of tourists, the monkeys who had lived off visitors' bananas and snacks were suddenly hungry. The real story is a little more complicated, and in some ways more interesting, because Lopburi's monkeys had been a growing problem long before the pandemic and would remain one long after it.
What the video showed
The clip was filmed by a local resident, Sasaluk Rattanachai, and posted to Facebook around 10 March 2020. It shows dozens, by some accounts hundreds, of macaques rushing through traffic after one animal that had grabbed something to eat. Cars stop, monkeys tumble over each other, and the fight spills from the road onto the pavement.
(The Facebook video originally embedded here is no longer available.)
According to local accounts reported at the time, the city's monkeys live in rival troops. One group is based around the old Khmer temple ruins, and another occupies a different part of town, with roads and the railway line acting as rough borders between their territories. Normally the groups avoid each other. On this occasion the competition for food apparently pulled them into open conflict.
Residents interviewed by local media offered several explanations. Some linked the aggression to the sudden drop in visitors. Others pointed to the intense March heat, which can make animals short-tempered, and to the ordinary competition that comes with a large population packed into a small space. One onlooker reportedly wondered aloud whether the scene had anything to do with the virus that was spreading. Some locals compared the troops' behaviour to that of packs of wild dogs.
Lopburi, the "Monkey City"
Lopburi lies about 150 kilometres north of Bangkok and is one of the oldest cities in Thailand. Its centre is full of Khmer-era monuments, most famously Phra Prang Sam Yot, a temple with three linked towers, and the shrine of San Phra Kan nearby. These ruins are home to thousands of long-tailed macaques, also known as crab-eating macaques, a species found across Southeast Asia that adapts readily to living alongside people.
Many local people regard the monkeys as connected to the temples and as bringers of good fortune, and feeding them has long been a tradition. Each November the city holds a Monkey Buffet Festival, setting out tables piled with fruit and vegetables for the animals. That festival, together with the chance to pose for photos with monkeys climbing over the temple stones, made Lopburi a popular stop for day-trippers and foreign tourists. Visitors routinely bought bananas, sweets and drinks to hand out.
Did the pandemic make the monkeys starve?
It is fair to say the pandemic disrupted the monkeys' food supply. Thailand's tourism collapsed in early 2020, first as visitors from China stopped coming and then as travel restrictions spread worldwide. In a city where thousands of animals had grown used to being fed by passers-by, fewer people on the streets meant fewer handouts.
But the footage alone does not prove that the monkeys were starving or that one piece of food was the only trigger. Wildlife officials in Thailand said later in 2020 that the bigger problem was not hunger but abundance. Years of easy, sugary food had allowed the population to grow quickly. A government veterinarian, Supakarn Kaewchot, told reporters the monkeys had become so used to tourists feeding them that the city offered them no way to fend for themselves. A shrine manager made a similar point: well-fed monkeys have more energy, and they breed more.
In other words, the brawl was probably a symptom of a long-running imbalance between too many monkeys and too little space, which the sudden change in feeding patterns brought into sharper view. Similar pandemic-era stories about wildlife appeared around the world in 2020, some accurate and some exaggerated, and they prompted wider debate about how humans and animals interact, including China's temporary ban on the wildlife trade.
Living with thousands of macaques
For residents, the monkeys are not just a tourist attraction. Through 2020, local and international media described people barricading themselves indoors, fitting netting over balconies and terraces, and abandoning shops and homes that rival troops had taken over. Complaints about bites, stolen food, damaged property and the smell of droppings were common. Some residents tried to help by sharing food with the animals, but many families were also under financial pressure during the outbreak and had to look after themselves first.
Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation responded with a sterilisation programme. Monkeys were trapped, sedated, neutered and tattooed for identification before being released. In mid-2020 officials planned to sterilise around 500 animals, and the authorities also discussed building a sanctuary on the edge of the city.
The problem did not go away when tourists returned. In 2024 the authorities launched a much larger roundup and sterilisation drive, and within about five months roughly 1,600 of an estimated 3,000 urban monkeys had been caught. Officials also set up designated feeding areas near San Phra Kan, where monkeys are fed at fixed times, in an effort to keep them away from homes and roads.
What visitors can learn from Lopburi
The scenes from Lopburi carry lessons that apply wherever people and wild animals share space, from macaques in Asian temples to gulls at seaside towns.
- Feeding changes behaviour. Animals that learn people mean food become bolder, more aggressive and more likely to bite. Junk food and sweets also harm their health.
- Food drives population growth. A steady, artificial food supply allows numbers to rise far beyond what the local environment would support.
- Sudden changes cause conflict. When the supply drops, as it did in 2020, competition rises quickly and spills over onto people.
- Follow local rules. If you visit Lopburi or similar sites, keep bags and food out of sight, avoid eye contact with excited monkeys, and use official feeding areas rather than handing food out on the street.
The wider picture in 2020
When the video spread, Thailand was still early in its outbreak. Around the time this story was first published, the country had reported a little over 700 confirmed cases. Tourism, a pillar of the Thai economy and heavily dependent on visitors from China, was already in freefall, and economists were warning of steep losses. Lopburi's monkeys became an unexpected symbol of how far the effects of the pandemic reached, even into the lives of animals that had never been near a hospital or an airport.
Years later, the city is still searching for a balance. The monkeys remain part of Lopburi's identity, and most residents do not want them gone, only managed in a way that lets people and animals share the old town more safely.
Sources: Video by Sasaluk Rattanachai, as reported by Inquirer.net, March 2020; Global News, June 2020; Wikipedia: Lopburi.
COMMENTS