Swedish tourist attacked by monkey in Lop Buri

A Swedish national was rushed to a hospital in Mueang district of for medical treatment and vaccination yesterday, after he was bitten by a long-tailed macaque at Phra Prang Som Yot, a well-known landmark in the province.

The victim, identified as Joel Gilbert, and three Swedish friends visited Lop Buri province to pay their respects to the Phra Karn shrine and then toured Phra Prang Sam to watch the monkeys in the area.

One of the monkeys suddenly attacked Gilbert, biting him on his neck, which required treatment Phra Narai Maharaj hospital.

Bancherd Roisansuek, an official at Phra Prang Sam Yot, said that he thinks that the tourist might have been bitten when he resisted the monkey’s attempt to grab his belongings.

He said that some tourists have been attacked when cuddling baby monkeys while the mother was nearby, adding that there have been several cases of monkeys attacking tourists, mistakenly thinking that they were harming their babies.