Thailand opens monkey hospital

LOPBURI: At least seven patients crowded the hospital room. Four with respiratory diseases were on the same examination table, out cold from anesthesia. Another had survived a fall from a building, and one more - hit by a car - had a broken leg.

It was a busy day at Thailand's first monkey hospital, which opened today in Lopburi, 115 kilometres north of Bangkok.

The 2,000 monkeys roaming free in central Lopburi are the city's main tourist attraction. A feast held for them each November brings thousands of visitors.

Treating monkeys is hard work, said Dr Somsak Naksomboon, a veterinarian who works at the hospital.

"If you work with wild animals, you have to anaesthetize them," he said. "Plus, they're harder to catch than your regular domesticated pets."

Medics who try to take the sick and injured animals to the doctor are treated like kidnappers by the monkeys.

"We have to be quick, because hundreds will rush in to bite you to protect their pack," Somsak said.

The 784-square-metre monkey hospital, located at the Lopburi Zoo, has operating, examination, treatment and admittance rooms. The 1.8-million-baht centre was built with loans and donations from animal lovers.

Respiratory problems are common among monkeys when seasons change, Somsak said. Winter has arrived in tropical Thailand and temperatures can drop to about 15 degrees Celsius at night.

Four big monkeys, suffering from colds, had to be put on intravenous drips because they hadn't eaten in days. They also had to be anaesthetized or they'd pull out their IV needles.

"Before, we used to take them to the vet clinics in town, but those vets are usually best equipped to take care of cats and dogs," said Somsak, who helped set up the hospital.

Monkeys need medical equipment that's "more like that for humans, and is much more expensive," he said.

--Agencies 2003-12-03

Thailand opens monkey hospital

Now where does this fit in the 30-Baht scheme?