A wild monkey that was bullied by other primates because of a rope cutting into its leg has finally been rescued.

The long-tailed macaque was first spotted with its herd on bridge near a patch of mangrove trees in Chonburi province, Thailand on June 29.

A red rope was tightly wrapped around its right leg which scraped and wounded the monkey.

Concerned locals tried to remove the rope but the monkey would become defensive so they called the wildlife rescuers instead.

Onlooker Isara Parinyothai said: ‘The injured monkey at Bang Sai bridge had a rope tied on its leg and could not walk comfortably. We always see the monkeys hanging around there. We gave him a nickname called ‘Ngaw'.'

It was unclear how the monkey was stuck on the rope but its right hand was also apparently injured.

Due to its unusual appearance Isara added that the other monkeys constantly bullied the creature.

He said: 'The other monkeys would bully him because of his unique appearance. We felt sorry so we tried to remove the string once after baiting him with fruits but he turned aggressive. Maybe the wounds hurt.'

Local rescuers reportedly took the monkey to remove the rope. He is still recovering at their facility.

Ngaw's herd, on the other hand, could still be seen on the bridge waiting for passing tourists to give them food and sleep in the nearby trees.

Thailand has been trying to contain its monkey population, which has grown during the pandemic. In Chonburi, vets have been castrating macaques even before the pandemic as they started to enter villages and damage properties, especially near temples and destinations where there are usually high numbers of tourists.

Experts believe that the monkeys have been dependent on visiting tourists who fed them with high-carb snacks and sugary drinks. Their shift in diet encouraged them to mate and produce more offspring. However, monkeys were left starving when tourists were restricted to travel during the pandemic. It resulted in monkeys starving which pushed them to forage for food in nearby villages, destroying crops and properties on the way.