(TH) Hungry monkeys storm houses in Thailand

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Hungry monkeys storm houses in Thailand

 

http://en.rian.ru/strange/20090922/156218776.html

[image: Hungry monkeys storm houses in Thailand]

© REUTERS/ Soe Zeya Tun

22:1122/09/2009

 

BANGKOK, September 22 (RIA Novosti) - Thais are fighting a crime wave as

falling tourist numbers have left monkeys so short of food they are taking

whatever they can get from people's homes, local media reported on Tuesday.

 

As the global economic crisis and political instability has cut visitors to

Thailand, wild monkeys, mostly macaques, are attacking villages and even

Buddhist monasteries across the country, pilfering everything that can be

considered edible.

 

" They are used to eating human food and understand well the difference

between water, Coca-Cola and beer, " said a resident of the central Nakhon

Pathom province's Sam Phran district, where a recent monkey attack took

place.

 

" They like all that food, but there are fewer tourists this year... and

monkeys attack people's houses in order to get food. We cannot explain the

difference between us, locals, and tourists, " Thong told Thai PBS TV

channel.

 

According to him, some 20 monkeys recently attacked several houses in the

village, less than 100 km (60 miles) from Thailand's capital Bangkok. The

man said the monkeys only needed a few minutes to take all the food,

including Coca-Cola and beer cans, from cupboards and fridges, destroying

the furniture.

 

Thong said local residents had been forced to fortify their houses to keep

out the hungry animals.

 

" We feel sorry for them. It is hunger that made them come here. That is why

we neither shoot at them nor beat them, " he said, adding that provincial

veterinary services had been asked to deal with the problem.

 

In August, hungry animals attacked a Buddhist monastery in the country's

Nakhon Sawan province some 200 km (120 miles) from Bangkok, ransacking the

monastery kitchen, destroying furniture and part of the temple's roof, media

reports said.

 

Thailand's monkeys are a big hit with tourists, who often give them food.

Once a year, residents give the monkeys a traditional Chinese dinner,

consisting of 12 meals, that is usually only laid on for the most important

guests.

 

According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the number of tourists in

the country has reduced by 20-25% in 2008-2009. The world economic crisis

and the seizure of the international airport in Bangkok by the opposition

People's Alliance for Democracy in November 2008 are believed to be the main

causes of the recession in the country's tourism sector.

 

 

 

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" Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man

will not himself find peace. " -Albert Schweitzer