LOP BURI: At least 154 monkeys in this Central Plains province have been caught and taken to an animal hospital for sterilisation.
The efforts are part of a new attempt to reduce the monkey population, estimated at above 2,000, to help mitigate the animals’ negative impacts on local residents.
The monkeys for decades have been a big tourist attraction in Lop Buri, which holds a feast for them ever year. But they have grown to have no fear of humans, who in turn are growing more fearful of monkeys.
In a campaign that ran from Aug 17-24, 142 of the 154 monkeys caught have already been sterilised at the Monkey Hospital located in the Lop Buri Zoo, said Sutthiphong Kaemthapthim, director of the wildlife conservation section of the Protected Areas Regional Office 1.
The sterilisations were carried out by local staff from the Protected Areas Regional Office 1and the Khao Somphot Wildlife No Hunting Area office in the same province, he said.
Some veterinarians from Protected Areas Regional Office 12 in neighbouring Nakhon Sawan also helped sterilise the monkeys at the zoo, he said.
After sterilisation, the monkeys were given a forearm tattoo indicating their province of origin and the year and numerical order in which each money was sterilised, he said. The tattoo also doubles as an ID for the monkey, which will be used in ongoing control efforts.
After sterilisation, the monkeys were kept at the zoo for one to two days to observe their surgical wounds and health to ensure they were healthy enough to be released back to where they were previously, Mr Sutthiphong added.