More than 130 Lopburi monkeys have been caught after escaping their cages. Officials used tranquilizer guns alongside cage traps and are urgently repairing damaged enclosures with stronger steel mesh.
On 1 Jul 2026, regarding the incident where a large troop of monkeys escaped from the Lopburi Municipal Animal Shelter in Pho Kao Ton Subdistrict, Mueang Lopburi District, Lopburi Province, yesterday (30 Jul), they caused damage to about 15 nearby households' homes and property, including a police station and residential buildings at Tha Hin Police Station area, disturbing the community. The escape occurred because the monkeys shook the cage at the roof corner joint of the new cage A, creating a gap through which they escaped.
Recently, Second Lieutenant Songpol Pan-kaew, Deputy Governor of Lopburi Province, together with the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, the Lopburi Provincial Natural Resources and Environment Office, the Protected Areas Regional Office 1 Saraburi branch, and the Khao Somphot Wildlife Sanctuary, deployed forces in a 1-kilometer radius around the Lopburi Municipal Animal Shelter to encircle, hunt, and herd the monkeys back into cages. However, the monkeys' evasive behavior made trapping difficult, prompting a strategic shift to "ambush trapping near residential homes."
Taking advantage of the monkeys' natural behavior of foraging in communities and homes when hungry, ambushes were set at strategic locations where monkeys are likely to seek food. This approach makes it easier and safer to capture the monkeys for both officials and the animals themselves, using tranquilizer guns combined with cage traps baited with corn, lotus seeds, and boxed milk.
Over the past two days, more than 130 monkeys have been recaptured and returned to cages. Authorities have also provided contact numbers of Department of National Parks officers in the area so residents can immediately report sightings for prompt capture. Those affected can also report incidents to the Lopburi Provincial Damrongtham Center via hotline 1567 or phone 0 3677 0134.
Meanwhile, Mr. Chamroen Salachip, Mayor of Lopburi Municipality, ordered urgent repairs at the damaged cage points, reinforcing them with finer mesh steel that monkeys cannot shake loose.
The Mayor of Lopburi Municipality stated that the municipality, responsible for the care of the approximately 3,500 monkeys at the Lopburi Municipal Animal Shelter in Pho Kao Ton Subdistrict, reported that recently the monkeys shook and pulled the cage bars, creating gaps that allowed many to escape.
Currently, over 130 monkeys have been recaptured. The municipality is repairing and reinforcing the old and breached cages using strong, small-mesh steel material that prevents monkeys from slipping their hands through as they could with the previous design. This improvement is funded by Lopburi Municipality.
Regarding the prohibition on photography and video recording at the municipal animal shelter, this measure was implemented because some ill-intentioned individuals recorded and live-streamed feeding sessions and solicited donations. Donations were mistakenly sent to the streamers’ accounts, causing damage to those who believed the municipality was soliciting funds for food purchases.
The Lopburi Municipality has clearly announced that donations are accepted only in the form of food, not cash. Such incidents provide opportunities for fraudsters, so the municipality has posted no-photo and no-video signs to prevent misuse for personal gain.
The municipality also announced that the individual who live-streamed without permission is now banned from entering the municipal animal shelter.