A department official said the first batch of monkeys – 24 males and 3 females – had been released into the caged habitat that includes a pool and swinging vines made from motorcycle tyres. Photo The Nation

MUANG – The relocation initiative is the province’s attempt to control the increasingly aggressive macaque population that stole food and attacked people, causing injury to several individuals.

Officials from the Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and provincial executives led by deputy governor Songphol Paenkaew and Muang Lopburi mayor Jamroen Salacheep were involved in the mission on Thursday.

A department official said the first batch of monkeys – 24 males and 3 females – had been released into the caged habitat that includes a pool and swinging vines made from motorcycle tyres.

All the macaques have been spayed, tagged, and passed a physical checkup to ensure that they were in a suitable condition to acclimatise to the new environment, he added.

Officials at the monkey garden will spend the next two weeks monitoring the animals’ health, behaviours, and how they adjust to the new setting before the next batch of around 200-300 monkeys will be transported to the garden by month’s end. - The Nation