In 2024, widely shared footage described in news reports showed rival macaque troops clashing in Lopburi, a central Thai city known for its monkeys. Reports also described macaques taking food, entering buildings, injuring people and disrupting local businesses. “Taking over” is a vivid headline shorthand: the animals affected parts of the city, but they did not control the town. The reporting does not authenticate a particular viral clip or establish the date and location of every video.
Why Lopburi’s macaques draw attention
Long-tailed macaques have been part of Lopburi’s cultural identity and a tourist attraction. Their presence has also become a source of serious friction for some residents, visitors and businesses. News accounts described food-snatching, damage to homes or shops, injuries and customers avoiding certain businesses; these reports document individual experiences, not conditions shared by every person or shop in the city.
Footage of macaques fighting helped bring attention to the conflict. News reports described the animals as rival troops or bands, but those phrases should not be read as evidence of human-like organized behavior.
Why were macaques fighting and approaching people?
Associated Press reporting in April 2024 offered several explanations, rather than identifying one proven cause. Some troops reportedly dominated feeding areas at major attractions, while other groups sought food from people elsewhere. A wildlife official also cited a lack of natural food sources as a reason macaques searched for food from humans. Competition around food was presented as one factor in the harassment of people, not a settled explanation for every encounter.
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Feeding can draw macaques into close contact with visitors and reinforce their association between people and food. In August 2024, ABC News reported that authorities planned to continue fining and arresting tourists who ignored warnings not to feed the animals sugary treats.
What authorities planned to do
Thailand’s wildlife authorities described a 2024 response combining capture, health checks, sterilisation, identification marking and relocation to enclosures. Officials said groups would be separated to reduce fighting, while some macaques might remain free so the animals could continue to be part of Lopburi’s identity. These were plans and actions reported at the time, not confirmation of the programme’s current status.
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The Associated Press reported an initial target of rounding up about 2,500 urban macaques. That was a target or estimate, not a final population census. Officials described the challenge as one of protecting people while avoiding harm to the monkeys. Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation director-general Athapol Charoenshunsa told the AP on April 3, 2024: “I don’t want humans to have to hurt monkeys, and I don’t want monkeys to have to hurt humans.”
Sterilisation and enclosure are different tools
| Approach | What reporting establishes | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Sterilisation | Wildlife authorities were reported to have neutered about 2,600 Lopburi macaques from 2014 through 2023, according to ABC News/Reuters in 2024. | The figure does not show how effective the effort was or provide a current population estimate. |
| Capture and enclosure | Authorities described capturing macaques, checking their health, identifying them and moving groups into enclosures during the 2024 campaign. | The available reports do not provide a rigorous long-term comparison of safety, animal welfare or effectiveness against sterilisation. |
The two approaches raise different practical questions: sterilisation aims to limit future population growth, while capture and enclosure can remove some animals from immediate contact with the public. The cited reporting describes actions and intentions, not enough evidence to judge which approach produces better long-term outcomes.
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What was reported after the campaign began?
Five months after the campaign began, The Independent, citing Reuters reporting in late 2024, reported that around 1,600 macaques were in captivity and that conflict had decreased. That is the latest outcome in the cited reports, not a verified account of Lopburi’s conditions or macaque numbers today. ABC News reported in August 2024 that the mayor then expected resolving the problem could take one or two years; that was a forecast at the time, not confirmation that it happened on schedule.
Earlier sterilisation had not ended conflict, according to officials cited in the 2024 coverage, and authorities proceeded with a new capture effort. That history shows why the measures were combined; it does not, by itself, establish the present results of either programme.
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