Dozens of starving monkeys in Lopburi, Thailand, sparked panic after taking over a Pibul Witthayalai School swimming pool and raiding bins.
The incident occurred in Lopburi province, Thailand on Tuesday.
The notoriously unruly primates are from the town where a huge monkey gang fight erupted last March. They have terrorised locals in the area for the past 12 months
One of the schoolgirls said that the monkeys steal their lunch and search unattended bags for treats or clothes, adding that macaques act like they are the owners of school now.
She said: “We used to swim for PE but since the monkeys arrived, we never get to do it anymore. They act like they are the owners of it now.”
Whenever the macaques are not in the pool, they would be spotted climbing the fence surrounding the school or wandering into the playground.
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The school principal said they have instructed the teachers to watch out for their students whenever the monkeys came.
The school head added that macaques started visiting the ground after the zoos and parks were closed due to Covid-19. “They have gradually become more confident,” he added.
He explained that monkeys visiting school and other residential areas after they were left starving as tourists, who used to provide food to them, have stopped visiting parks due to pandemic.
“They used to be fed with snacks by tourists but due to the pandemic, there were fewer visitors to give them food,” he added.
In March 2020, just 800,000 came to Thailand, compared to 3.4 million in 2019, with the country closing its borders to tourists for the month of April.
A lack of tourists and a consistent source of food led to the monkeys becoming aggressive, with as many as 8,400 overrunning the city and forcing locals to avoid going outside where possible.
