--- title: "Furious Monkeys Tear Down Anti-Monkey Posters" description: "In one Thai town, monkeys have become a fiery political issue — and the monkeys themselves are fighting back with a vengeance. " date: "2024-04-30" modified: "2024-04-30" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/thailand-monkey-poster-rebellion" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "animals" - "macaques" - "thailand" - "the digest" --- # Furious Monkeys Tear Down Anti-Monkey Posters ![In one Thai town, monkeys have become a fiery political issue — and the monkeys themselves are fighting back with a vengeance. ]() *\Image: Thairath\* ## Primate Election In one Thai town, monkeys have become a fiery political issue — and the monkeys themselves are fighting back with a vengeance. Long known for its once-charming [population of macaques](), the tourist town of Lopburi in south-central Thailand has, as [previous reports indicated](), become overrun with wild, hungry monkeys in the peri-pandemic years after the town [cleared out due to COVID precautions](). While officials have attempted various measures to try to keep them in check — including [relocation](), [mass sterilization](), and even [policing efforts]() — some locals have begun lobbying them to do more. So signs went up calling for a moratorium on monkey business — and the macaques quite literally struck back. As a translated article from the [*Thairath* news site explains](), things went bananas after angry residents and shopkeepers put up posters in the town's market district imploring the country's National Parks Service to "evict" the monkeys. That area seems to be where the Lopburi macaques like to sleep, and after the signs went up, the market's primate residents began tearing them down. ## Monkey Business If this were a one-off incident it would already be strange enough, but this kind of thing has been going on in Lopburi for years now. A [viral video from 2021]() — which was subsequently [reshared in March]() of this year as if it were new — shows what can only be referred to as street gangs of macaques roaming the streets of Lopburi looking for food. More recently, police in the town have [developed task forces]() to protect tourists from the hungry monkeys, arming themselves with slingshots and tranquilizer guns in non-lethal attempts to take care of Lopburi's primate scourge. https://twitter.com/hatefreeworldX/status/1421767170183241731 Missing from the discourse surrounding Lopburi's discord are discussions of animal rights or conservation, though watching footage of the macaques makes it easy to see why folks are more concerned for the well-being of the town's human population than its primates. If nothing else, the Lopburi monkey debacle once again illustrates our uneasy relationship with local fauna — and how defenseless we can be against a surprise attack. **More on animal rebellion:** [*Elephant Escapes Circus, Thunders Through Montana City*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()