Monkey Business
A cautionary tale from Koh Chang reminds us that wild animals should stay in the wild
You know when you see a little baby monkey that is so cute that you want to take it home? Don’t even think about it says Jamie Shepherd. His story should serve to convince you that wild animals belong only in the wild.
Four years ago long term island resident Jason was moved by pity to take in a baby Pig-Tailed Macaque monkey like the one in the picture. The monkey was an orphan, and would have died without his help. Many monkeys are orphaned in this way as their mothers are frequently killed when they are taken away for sale as pets. So he took it in and brought it up with love, care and attention. He even gave the Monkey its own bedroom in his home and did his utmost to make its life comfortable.
However monkeys are wild animals and as this one grew to adulthood it began to sometimes behave aggressively. This came to a head last week when without provocation the monkey attacked him giving him a large number of deep bites on his arms, all of which thankfully missed major blood vessels.
Jamie is philosophical about the attack. He says that he’s just glad that the monkey attacked him and not a small child who could easily have died. He knew that he’d had a lucky escape and realised that the taking care of this wild animal was now beyond his abilities. Luckily he was able to get in touch with an organisation called the Wildlife Friends of Thailand. This animal welfare organisation is based in Petchburi Province in Thailand and is devoted to helping care for and rehabilitate wild animals that have had problems in captivity.
They are a non-profit group whose activities are funded through donations. You can see what they do on www. wfft.org and they welcome support and donations.
After hearing of his dilemma they agreed to come and pick up Jason’s Monkey and took him to their centre where after a two month preparation period he will be integrated into their Macaque community which currently numbers 15 adults. Here he will be able to mix with his own kind and enjoy a degree of freedom.
But the easiest way to prevent the trade in baby monkeys is to not buy them. If there was no demand there wouldn’t be a supply. On Koh Chang you may well be granted an opportunity to see Monkeys in the wild where they belong. The monkeys in the photo were part of a large group seen beside the road in Lonely Beach.
