A 37-year-old woman had her shopping taken by macaque monkeys at a local market in Lop Buri’s Muang district on Wednesday.
Arikanta Kanjanasinmetha expressed her intention to lodge a complaint with the police regarding the two monkeys that assaulted her from behind, causing her to fall over. She stated, “but I didn’t know how to file a police complaint when the attackers were monkeys. I told myself that it would be useless anyway.”
She mentioned walking back to her vehicle after completing her food shopping for dinner when she was ambushed from behind and fell face down.
Initially, she was unaware of the assailants, believing them to be human thieves until the bystanders who came to her aid informed her that they were, indeed, two large monkeys. Arikanta was taken to a nearby hospital, where she received treatment for wounds on her hands, torso, and knees.
Numerous monkeys in various locations in Lop Buri cause problems for people, including grabbing items from them.
Typically, they inhabit temples in the province, but they have started encroaching into human settlements in search of food. Their population has grown rapidly due to the lack of a clear or effective plan by the authorities to control their numbers.
Shop owners in the affected areas reportedly had to close their businesses as potential customers stopped coming, fearing the monkeys and the loss of their belongings.
Many residents have also relocated because the monkeys enter their properties.
Meanwhile, Pradit Kliangklao, 66, noted that the monkeys have been present since he was young, but their numbers were small at that time.
Now, he stated, they have begun invading human homes and stealing their possessions. “Incidents where the monkeys grab items from passers-by occur almost daily,” he said.
A taxi motorcyclist, who chose not to reveal his identity, mentioned that the monkeys are clever enough to hide quietly under vehicles and wait for people to pass by, then grab their belongings from behind.
In early February, the authorities captured a large number of monkeys in the province and will relocate them to a zoo by the end of this month.
