Ever since the lockdown has been imposed since the pandemic, we have read of so many instances of animals taking over in places there were hardly seen before. But what happens to a place, which has been famous for habituating animals even before the lockdown? Lopburi an ancient in Thailand is known as the "Monkey City" because of the hordes of macaques that reside here. But the lockdown situation, which even kept the tourists feeding them away, the monkeys have grown aggressive, hungry and horny! Now the result is, humans feel caged as certain pockets of the city have been taken over by the gangs of monkeys. Animals Reclaiming The Earth: 13 Instances of Animals and Birds Roaming Freely During Coronavirus Lockdown From Around The World (Watch Viral Pics And Videos).

At the early start of May, when the lockdown was imposed, a video from this city went viral which saw over a hundred monkeys scattering for one single banana. These monkeys are mostly fed by the tourists frequenting here, but with months of lockdown, there was no one to regularly feed them. The balanced between the tourists feeding monkeys has collapsed so much that they have become a menace now. As per AFP report, locals tried to initially feed these monkeys but the junk food and scraps have only made them more violent. "The more they eat, the more energy they have … so they breed more," Pramot Ketampai, a manager of shrines was quoted to the report.

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The abandoned spots in the city like a cinema hall are said to be a base of these macaques. And violent gangs are usually taking over each other here, forcing the residents to stay indoors and away from the "no-go zones" which are now taken over by these monkeys. One of the government veterinarians was quoted to the Reuters agency, "With the tourists gone, they’ve been more aggressive, fighting humans for food to survive. They’re invading buildings and forcing locals to flee their homes."

To cater to these aggressively horny and hungry monkeys, Thailand's Department of National Parks has launched a program to sterilize some of them. They are being caught, castrated and released back into the city. The idea is to limit their reproduction rate and not hurt the existing population. The measures are only taken in the city areas where they have become a nuisance.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 28, 2020 02:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).