Monkeys chomp away to glory at feast festival in central Thailand

A meal fit for monkeys was served on Sunday at the annual Monkey Feast Festival in central Thailand. (Reuters)

Amid the morning traffic, rows of monkey statues holding trays were lined up outside the compound of the Ancient Three Pagodas, while volunteers prepared food across the road for real monkeys — the symbol of the province around 150 kilometers north of Bangkok. (AP)

The festival is an annual tradition in Lopburi and held as a way to show gratitude to the monkeys for bringing in tourism. (AP)

This year’s theme is “monkeys feeding monkeys,” an antidote to previous years where monkey participation had decreased due to high numbers of tourists, which intimidated the animals. (AP)

As the carefully prepared feast was brought toward the temple, the ravenous creatures began to pounce and were soon devouring the largely vegetarian spread. (Reuters)