Hungry monkeys found dead after getting stuck in water tanks while searching for food

Several monkeys died after jumping into an abandoned water tank in search of food and getting trapped inside.

The primates had been suffering due to a decline in tourists - who would normally feed them - due to the coronavirus pandemic preventing travel.

When they found the abandoned water tank, the excited mammals and believed to have dived in to eat scraps and have a drink.

However, the depth made it hard for them to climb out of the tank again and they were trapped at the bottom.

A resident found the wild monkeys at the public park in Songkhla, southern Thailand on Wednesday evening (June 3).

The local said he had already heard a monkey screaming a couple of days before but thought nothing of it.

When he finally looked, he found two abandoned water tanks that smelled bad because of the dead animals.

He climbed up to check and found a group of monkeys inside the tank.

The local then laid a long log down into the tank so that some of the monkeys that were still alive could escape.

Some of them died later due to exhaustion.

Professor Wanyanee Suwanchatri from the Prince of Songkla University said she believed that the absence of tourists caused the deaths of the monkeys.

She said: "I visited the area immediately after I was informed about the deaths of the monkeys.

"I think the monkeys have gone into the water tanks because they were thirsty and starving as normally they were fed by the tourists." Professor Wanyanee added that the provincial government will take care of retrieving the dead monkeys and will find a way to ease their starvation.

She said: "I have already reported this matter to the government office and they promised to help retrieve the bodies and find food for the surviving monkeys."