Hungry monkeys storm houses in Thailand

BANGKOK, September 22 (RIA Novosti) - Thais are fighting a crime wave as falling tourist numbers have left monkeys so short of food they are taking whatever they can get from people's homes, local media reported on Tuesday.

As the global economic crisis and political instability has cut visitors to Thailand, wild monkeys, mostly macaques, are attacking villages and even Buddhist monasteries across the country, pilfering everything that can be considered edible.

"They are used to eating human food and understand well the difference between water, Coca-Cola and beer," said a resident of the central Nakhon Pathom province's Sam Phran district, where a recent monkey attack took place.

"They like all that food, but there are fewer tourists this year... and monkeys attack people's houses in order to get food. We cannot explain the difference between us, locals, and tourists," Thong told Thai PBS TV channel.

According to him, some 20 monkeys recently attacked several houses in the village, less than 100 km (60 miles) from Thailand's capital Bangkok. The man said the monkeys only needed a few minutes to take all the food, including Coca-Cola and beer cans, from cupboards and fridges, destroying the furniture.

Thong said local residents had been forced to fortify their houses to keep out the hungry animals.

"We feel sorry for them. It is hunger that made them come here. That is why we neither shoot at them nor beat them," he said, adding that provincial veterinary services had been asked to deal with the problem.

In August, hungry animals attacked a Buddhist monastery in the country's Nakhon Sawan province some 200 km (120 miles) from Bangkok, ransacking the monastery kitchen, destroying furniture and part of the temple's roof, media reports said.

Thailand's monkeys are a big hit with tourists, who often give them food. Once a year, residents give the monkeys a traditional Chinese dinner, consisting of 12 meals, that is usually only laid on for the most important guests.

According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the number of tourists in the country has reduced by 20-25% in 2008-2009. The world economic crisis and the seizure of the international airport in Bangkok by the opposition People's Alliance for Democracy in November 2008 are believed to be the main causes of the recession in the country's tourism sector.