Monkey mayhem.
Chaos erupted in a Thai city when nearly 100 monkeys orchestrated a mass breakout from their enclosure at the Lopburi Municipality Animal Nursery.
Staff at the facility managed to prevent over 1,000 additional primates from joining the great escape, but authorities are now scrambling to recapture the fugitive macaques before they wreak havoc on the community.
Mayor Chamroen Salacheep has mobilised local police and agencies to round up the wandering primates.
The municipality, world-famous for its annual Monkey Buffet festival, was once overrun by thousands of free-roaming long-tailed macaques until 2024, when wildlife officials ordered approximately 2,500 of the animals captured and enclosed following numerous violent incidents involving food-seeking primates.
Repairs to the damaged enclosure were completed Tuesday morning, with officials now planning to construct a more secure double-layer facility to prevent future jailbreaks.
The city’s complicated relationship with its primate population continues to evolve as authorities balance tourism appeal with public safety.
