Menacing monkeys ravage city - 13th July 2020

Alarmed residents are being forced to barricade themselves inside their own homes as ravaging macaques tear up the streets of Lopburi in Thailand.

Although a nuisance, locals would put up with the antics of the primates as they enticed flocks of tourists who clamoured to buy bananas and feed morsels of the fruit to the primates. However, with the ancient city being devoid of any foreigners during the global pandemic, things have taken a turn for the worst. The streets have become overwhelmed with the starving longtail monkeys flinging themselves at people in a desperate search for food.

In a last ditch attempt for protection, some people have slipped junk food to the assailants, but others believe this is merely exacerbating the situation. It is thought that the sugary diet is giving the monkeys more energy and accelerating the breeding process, resulting in yet more macaques prowling passed their windows.

Not only people, but the city itself is suffering at the hands of these hoards of vicious creatures. Roaming the alleys and patrolling the city walls, they are ripping rubber seals from car doors in a display of terrifyingly destructive behaviour. Most notably, they’ve ransacked a cinema and started laying their dead inside which is now giving forth an unutterable stench.

This outright warfare has created zones in the city where no-one dares to enter for fear of being pounced upon. The rapid multiplication of the monkeys has created a population double the size of that three years ago, which is now at a staggering 6,000.

As part of a mass sterilization effort, wildlife officials are using fruit to lure animals into crates and cart them off to clinics where they’re sterilised and branded with a tiny tattoo. Whilst one aim is to assemble a shelter for the monkeys, residents will most likely oppose this as they no longer want them anywhere within the city.