Monkeys raid farm in Thailand to steal food as COVID-19 hampers supply

A gang of more than 100 monkeys raided a farm to steal food in Thailand as COVID-19 hampered their regular food supply after a lack of tourists.

Video footage shows adult and baby monkeys – which are normally fed by tourists – racing to grab chunks of corn to eat in Nakhon Ratchasima province on January 18.

The villagers could only watch from afar as the creatures ravaged their crops.

One of the farmers said he did not dare to stop the animals as they were too many and could become aggressive.

He said: ‘It would be impossible to stop all of them and dangerous, too. One monkey is enough to harm people if it wants too.

‘Imagine having to stop more than a hundred hungry monkeys. So we just let them eat the crops.’

As the farm is close to the national park, other animals such as elephants, cattle, and bulls, have raided the area before to search for food.

The monkey gang emerged from the Khao Phaeng Ma Non-Hunting Area and Khao Yai National Park where they lived.

Recorded from inside a car, the footage showed the driver slowly creeping up the dusty road as monkeys ran across in front the vehicle.

Panning to the right of the car, the person filming showed a number of other monkeys hiding among the foliage, before chasing after the rest of the gang.

They used to be fed with snacks by tourists but due to the pandemic, there were fewer visitors to give them food.

Some of the animals have also taken over the road appearing to move to the next place while carrying their babies when they have finished eating corn.

The devastated farmers sought help from local government agencies so they can be compensated for the crops and prevent the incident from happening again.

The first quarter of 2020 saw tourist arrivals in Thailand drop to 6.7 million people, down from 10.7 million from the first quarter of the previous year, as the coronavirus pandemic began to sweep the globe and limit the number of people travelling.

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.