Alternative Hospital Opens

Thailand Opens First Hospital for Monkeys
2 hours, 19 minutes ago  Add Top Stories - AP to My Yahoo!


By ALISA TANG, Associated Press Writer

LOPBURI, Thailand - 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
Wednesday in Lopburi, 70 miles 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 anesthetize 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 8,440-square-foot monkey hospital, located at the Lopburi Zoo, has
operating, examination, treatment and admittance rooms. The $45,000 center
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 59 F 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 anesthetized, or
they'd pull out their IV needles.


They'll be released after treatment.


"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.