More monkey business at Phuket Provincial Hall

PHUKET CITY: Dog bites man isn’t news, as the old journalistic adage has it. But what about dog bites monkey – and snaps its tail off?

Bleary-eyed civil servants were greeted with just such a scene yesterday morning, when a pig-tailed macaque from Toh Sae Hill wandered onto the grounds of Phuket Provincial Hall.

A local dog took offense at the macaque’s presence and gave chase. When it caught the monkey, the brutal canine bit its tail off.

The attack happened at 8.30am, just as civil servants were coming in to work. One concerned witness called Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO) for help.

Shortly afterwards livestock office vet Dr Jirayu Niran Wiroj arrived to treat the wounded primate.

Terrified, the stricken animal was however in no mood for the vet’s attentions and it climbed atop the Phuket Provincial Hall roof and refused to come down.

Only after it was knocked out with a tranquilizer dart were officers able to get the animal down.

Dr Jirayu cleaned and treated the now tail-less monkey’s wound before bandaging it up.

He called Arwach Nitikul of Khao Pra Taew Wildlife Conservation Center to take the animal for further care before releasing it back into the wild.

This is certainly not the first time a pig-tailed macaque has found itself in Phuket Provincial Hall. Only two weeks ago another cheeky monkey made off from a stunned food vendor’s stall with a belly full of cucumbers.

For our previous report, click here.

“The problem of wild animals getting lost in the city is increasing, particularly around the government departments near the jungle, especially Toh Sae Hill,” Dr Jirayu said.

“Imbalanced ecosystems and human encroachment into the jungle mean the animals are losing their natural habitats and are coming into the city to find food. State agencies, especially the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, should do their jobs and prevent jungle encroachment” he said.

Dr Jirayu also appealed to the public to refrain from damaging natural ecosystems by hunting or hurting wild animals.

— Siangtai Daily