Bangkok - The Thai town of Lopburi has coughed up a special budget to perform hernia operations on its resident monkey population who have been harming themselves in their greedy pursuit of handouts, veterinarians said Wednesday. More than 100 macaque monkeys have already undergone surgery on their hernias but hundreds more are in need of the operation among the town's 1,700-strong simian colony, said Juthana Supanam, a volunteer veterinarian.
The semi-wild monkeys are the main tourist attraction for Lopburi, 100 kilometres north of Bangkok.
"The monkeys are developing hernias because of their abnormal lifestyle," Juthana said.
"Macaques like to live up high in tree branches, and here they are are constantly jumping down to the ground to grab food from tourists," she said.
Most of the patients are elderly males suffering from groin hernias, the symptom of which is swollen testicles.
Lopburi, which goes by the nickname "Monkey City," is famed for its macaque population living in trees around the Phraphrang Sam Yod Buddhist temple.
A banquet is held once a year for the monkeys at the temple and a local hotel, drawing hundreds of tourists to witness the spectacle.
The town's monkey population has increased thanks to the free food grabbed from townsfolk and tourists.
