An official from the Patong Municipal Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, who declined to be named, told The Phuket News today (Apr 17), “I received a call at 9:45am by some residents who had found a macaque sitting on the roof of the Baan Lukkan Patong Resort on Soi Nanai in Patong so I sent a veterinary team from Patong Municipality to the scene.
“We wanted to lure and capture the macaque so that it could be taken back to the wild so the team prepared an anaesthetic,” the official said.
“People tried to lure the animal with bananas and at the same time the veterinary team tried to shoot the macaque with the anaesthetic, but missed. The macaque then jumped to a tree and escaped.
“The vet said that the macaque might return come. If it does we will try to capture it again so it can be taken to a non-hunting area. This is a safer place for the monkey,” the official added.