Residents satisfied with vicious monkeys invasion to Penh district

There are still hundreds of monkeys in Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district but they are living in harmony now with the residents due to the number of vicious monkeys rehomed and only gentle monkeys remain.

Phnom Penh Forestry Administration director Koam Seiha said that now there are no complaints about monkey attacks from local residents.

“If there is a complaint from local authorities or residents, we will go down to collect the vicious monkeys and take them to Phnom Tamao Zoological Park and Wildlife Rescue Center.”

He said the vicious monkeys are so clever and that they stay on the building roofs and in trees, only coming down to the ground when they want to steal fruits or get food from people who throw it to them.

“We allowed the gentle monkeys to stay at Wat Phnom because a lot of tourists want to see their funny characters,” said Seiha.

Nary, a garment worker in Kamboul district, said she liked to bring her children to visit Wat Phnom in Daun Penh district and feed the monkeys with bananas because it is fun for her and her children.

“Now, there are no monkeys at Wat Phnom due to no tourists feeding them food. If Wat Phnom has no monkeys, I feel like it is a mountain with no forest because those monkeys are the decoration of Wat Phnom Pagoda” said Nary.

Meanwhile, Davin, who visited Wat Phnom after her medical checkup from the hospital, said she lives in Kampong Speu province and came to Phnom Penh for a health check.

Davin said: “Phnom Penh is so busy and crowded with narrow space except at Wat Phnom which has a large space to relax. It has big trees and monkeys.”

“I visited Phnom Penh and Wat Phnom for the last 10 years and it was good to see many monkeys feeding their baby with their breasts. But I feel like it is so boring now when there are no monkeys at Wat Phnom,” she said. “There is only the sound of vehicles which is not great as the monkey’s sound.”

Phnom Penh Heritage Office chief So Rachana said: “Monkeys should not be at Wat Phnom pagoda because sometimes they scare tourists by stealing food or their belongings.”

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES