They had been giving the monkeys sweets, fizzy drinks and cereal – sugary treats which are well known to make monkeys more hyper and sexually active. “Sugary foods can increase the productivity of the monkeys and stimulate the monkeys to reproduce more,” Suttipong Kamtaptim, from the Department of National Parks, said. Female monkeys already have the ability to reproduce twice per year, and the frequency with which they have been given sugar has meant that these monkeys have had an abundance of energy to do so. Pre-pandemic, monkey and man lived in harmony in the city – the macaques attracted tourists to the city, and those tourists would buy bananas to feed the animals and pose with them.
