LOPBURI — Anti-Monkey Unit Police and local officials tried to catch about 30 monkeys back after they have escaped from a government cage in Lopburi province. Locals expressed concerns and urged officials to capture all them.
On June 19, 2024, over 50 officers from the municipality tried to capture the escaped monkeys, following an incident where over 30 macaques broke out of Cage 1 and wandered onto the streets, climbing into homes, with some even invading Tha Hin Police Station since Tuesday evening.
They brought cages and food, placing them at 4 main points: across from the animal nursery park, Tha Hin Police Station, and Pho Kao Ton Subdistrict Administrative Organization (SAO), where monkeys were still scattered within a 500-meter radius.
The monkey-capturing operation faced difficulties. Officers from Pho Kao Ton SAO had to use air guns to shoot tranquilizers and use a boom lift to bring the monkeys down. The codes on their left arms confirmed that they were monkeys from the Manora Market zone.
Later, a report from the Department of National Parks stated that by midday on Wednesday, over 20 monkeys had been returned to their cages. It is expected that all the escaped monkeys will be captured by the evening of the same day.
According to police officers, during the incident on Tuesday, they had to quickly close doors and windows. Officials from the Department of National Parks and the municipality placed food-filled cages at various points. The situation quickly stabilized as the monkeys returned to their cages at feeding time, although a few remained on rooftops and around homes, searching for food.
Meanwhile, reporters visited the Pho Kaeton Animal Nursery Center, also known as Lopburi Monkey Park An inspection of Cage 1, Phase 3, where over 300 monkeys from Manora Market are housed, revealed a 20 centimeters gap between the wire and metal cage. A strong and large lead monkey is believed to have shaken the wire until the connection broke, allowing the group to escape and causing panic among locals and police.
Officials have since repaired the wire. Locals near the animal nursery center are advised to close their doors and windows tightly to prevent the monkeys from hiding inside. Authorities are confident they will recapture all the escaped monkeys.
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