Monkeys Move To Prime Time

PHUKET TOWN: Early morning visitors to Rang Hill are getting more than a panoramic view of the city. Reports of monkeys swinging in the trees and foraging for food are giving the well-known park some new attention. Natthanit Nithiwiroon, the morning disc jockey on radio station FM 89, said she’s been spotting up to two dozen monkeys a day in recent weeks as she pulls up to the station’s Rang Hill studio to begin her shift. The monkeys really get into the swing of things, according to the DJ, performing endless acrobatics in the trees. Khun Natthanit said she’s been placing bananas and other fruit on the ground and relating the monkeying around outside the studio on the air. Some loyal listeners have responded with treats of their own. The DJ told the Gazette she believes the new road linking the Sam Kong residential area to the hilltop may have disrupted the monkeys’ former habitat and brought them closer to Rang Hill’s developed areas. Authorities have not reported any incidents of monkeys harming visitors within the boundaries of the park.