Too much monkeying around
Phra Prang Sam Yod temple in Thailand was constructed in the 13th century in a heavily forested area. Originally a Hindu shrine, it was later converted into a Buddhist temple. As the town grew up around the site, the monkeys that lived in the forest remained. The locals didn’t mind. The macaques were believed to be living representatives of the Hindu god Hanuman, thus viewed as symbols of good luck. But few people are feeling all that fortunate these days. Monkeys have always been all around the temple and they put the town on the tourist map, but the monkey’s steady population growth has made their presence increasingly challenging. The monkeys are known for their bold behavior, invading homes and businesses to steal goods, ripping at everything from car windshield wipers to house window screens, leaving trails of waste behind them. The streets are mobbed by thousands of monkeys and the open air shops have a continuous fight keep the monkeys away from the merchandise, especially food.
The coronavirus lockdown has just exacerbated this longstanding problem. With Thailand closed to international tourists, the monkeys invaded the main tourist center — once accustomed to daily feasts — now go after the locals and domestic weekend travelers to feed them. This has led to more confrontations than usual, including a highly publicized “gang war” back in March. “There are three main groups of monkeys,” explains Manus Wimuktipan, secretary of the Lopburi Monkey Foundation. Each group protects its territory fiercely, he says. “Gang war took place because the monkeys from at least three gangs all saw a person bringing in bottles of sweetened fermented milk. And every group wanted them because they like this kind of drink very much. And that was the start of the fierce fighting.” Officials say it’s the consumption of these sweet drinks and other junk food that is a big part of the overall problem. The monkeys not only have come to depend on people feeding them, but when they had to live off what they found in the jungle they reproduced only once per year. Now with the tourists and the town around the temple they get junk food all the time and have two litters per year. So there are twice as many monkeys each year. While the government would be willing to cull the monkey population, both the Hindu and Bhuddist locals want to protect the animals. So the city has monkey’s everywhere all year long.
Monkeying around
The teacher came up to Johnny’s desk and asked can you tell me what separates you from a monkey.
Johnny said with confidence “the desk.”
I have been reading so many bad things lately about how all the bad things sugar and junk food could do to me, so my New Year’s resolution is no more reading.
I hate monkey bars.
They only have banana daiquiris.
Q: What do monkeys do for laughs?
A: They tell jokes about people!
December 21st Birthdays
1953 – Tina Brown, 1954 – Chris Evert, 1974 – Karrie Webb, 1983 – Mahira Khan
1957 – Ray Romano, 1940 – Frank Zappa, 1966 – Kiefer Sutherland, 1977 – Emmanuel Macron