The tourism downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has turned the ancient Thai city of Lopburi, which sits about 150km north east of Bangkok, into a scene of raging warfare between thousands of monkeys.
While many residents and shopkeepers are keeping indoors to avoid the roving gangs of long-tailed macaques, Thai-based photojournalist Mladen Antonov travelled there on assignment.
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Photo: AFP / Mladen Antonov
Longtail macaques pull the tail of a cat in an abandoned building in the town of Lopburi. Photo: AFP / Mladen Antonov
Longtail macaques gathering outside a closed shop in the town of Lopburi. Residents barricaded indoors, rival gang fights and no-go zones for humans. Photo: AFP / Mladen Antonov
A longtail macaque drinking juice in front of the Prang Sam Yod Buddhist temple in the town of Lopburi, some 155km north of Bangkok. Photo: AFP / Mladen Antonov
Tourists interact with longtail macaques in the Prang Sam Yod Buddhist temple in the town of Lopburi. Photo: AFP / Mladen Antonov
Lopburi's monkey population, which is the town's main tourist attraction, doubled to 6000 in the last three years, forcing authorities to start a sterilisation campaign. Photo: AFP / Mladen Antonov
Longtail macaques sitting on a rooftop in the town of Lopburi. Photo: AFP / Mladen Antonov
AFP photographer Mladen Antonov in Lopburi, Thailand. Photo: Supplied