I don’t think most people saw this one coming. Apparently the large decline in travel has caused fights among rival gangs of monkeys in Thailand. (HT to New York Post)
Typically fed by tourists (I’ll raise my hand here), the monkeys are now deprived of a major food source and looking for whatever else they can find. As someone who has been swarmed by monkeys before this is definitely NOT a good thing for anyone still there in the crowd. Monkeys will take whatever they can grab, crawl all over you, etc. Sort of like a messier, even worse-behaved toddler.
Bottom line: avoid the monkeys if you are still in Southeast Asia.
It’s also a reminder against feeding “wild” animals in general. It leads to domestication, obesity, and illness. They may be more likely to stray into public areas searching for food. Most importantly, it results in overpopulation. There are as many monkeys (or pigeons, or rats, or whatever) as the food supply can support, but take that food source away and they’ll fight over what’s left — some will probably die. It’s not a good situation for anyone.
