They Steal, They Rob, They Vandalize - The Naked Truth About Long-Tailed Rogues of Songkhla 🇹🇭 For #Monomad
Let me be brutally honest: this bottle contains no juice, because this bottle is a lamp:
Another long-tailed person (Macaca fascicularis), an image taken from my window:
No, dear, you won't rob my room...
Let me explain. Songkhla monkeys normally don't invade rooms if humans are inside. But I always close my window when I go to shower or stroll, as a banana on the table or anything else - a lamp looking like a bottle, for example - can attract a macaque or a group of them. I wouldn’t be surprised if such a crowd ended up unintentionally ruining my laptop or other valuables.
Besides being unintentionally destructive, macaques sometimes commit acts of vandalism - it's not just jumping, they try to break things. The reason is probably to showcase their power and dominance - the same reason often motivates humans to behave so. In the image above, you can see the beast shaking a TV antenna.
Macaques behave like people high on amphetamines, except for the fact they are focused on food. 99% of their crimes are food-related, but not always:
I couldn't reach the floor of this balcony with my telephoto lens... But I'll tell you what had happened - they stole two T-shirts (for fun, not to wear them, lol).
Behind the monkey pulling a cloth, there were 2 T-shirts (look at the photo above). As you see, they disappeared - I witnessed monkeys take them away. Most probably, they threw them away quite soon, but you never know - they could bring clothes to a neighbor's yard or a rooftop.
The story of the stolen laundry ended this: a man came out with a toy machine gun and started shooting monkeys with plastic pellets. The thieves screamed and scattered in all directions.
Rooftops are where monkeys rest between their acts of mischief. Although they never sleep there at night - they all come back to the wooded Tangkuan Hill, their home.
All this criminal activity is possible due to numerous cables and wires entangling the city. And that's where I find much inspiration as a photographer.
Songkhla monkeys not only walk on wires, but also cross streets. That's fine until they cross a major road.
This net is a skywalk created by people to let macaques cross on foot a busy street rarer. However, it never became popular.
In a similar colony in Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand, macaques tend to steal car mirrors. So I looked to see if the same thing was happening in Songkhla. No, it wasn't. It probably means Songkhla macaques have a different culture.
Culture is something that is passed on only by learning and, at the same time, persistent in a group - and it does exist among long-tailed macaques.
City macaques in Prachuap Khiri Khan (Thailand) use stones to break sea almonds and steal car mirrors - Songkhla monkeys don't do these. And - happily for humans - none of macaques have learned how to break windows with stones. When they do, that will be a revolution...
I joked often in the post, calling these beasts criminals and stuff, so I feel a necessity to explain things. The macaques of Songkhla seriously disturb only the houses that border the forested Tangkuan Hill or are located across the street. The rest of the city lives peacefully, although visits by monkeys are possible, especially early in the morning. For example, monkeys sometimes visit the roof areas of my guesthouse, which is located 500 meters away from Tangkuan Hill. Half a kilometer along wires and roofs is not that close.
Many Songkhla people wear sticks when they are walking along streets adjacent to Tangkuan Hill, which isn't typical for Thailand. As I understand, the monkeys behaved aggressively during the pandemic when they were starving - you can read articles about that time in the mass media. So, I guess, some local people don't feel safe about monkeys anymore.
Nowadays, Songkhla macaques are well supplied and live in laziness and idleness. The local population (living far from the monkey hill 😃) considers the macaques cute and funny and bring them food. This is not only an act of civic responsibility, but also a Buddhist tradition - feeding animals is part of Buddhism in Thailand no less than praying.
All photos were taken with a Nikkor 70-300mm on a full-frame DSLR Nikon D750 by the author in May-June 2025 in Songkhla, Thailand
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Oh my goodness... They are terrible adorable vandals!.... :)) Great post as always, both for the photos and for the entertaining and funny text!...
Happy to read this! Glad my efforts weren't in vain!
Thank you!
Owww, I can believe that. They are so funny, though. That lamp, my goodness! You see why my neighbour sent his monkey away? He was stealing pans and such in the neighbourhood. They copy humans, and I also heard about a monkey kidnapping another monkey’s baby lol. And they have fashions too in their community, where one copies what the other does. Gosh, those monkeys are so busy! Haha. Nice post. 😀
:D Yes, a monkey is a real trouble. Too similar to live together. :D Although, imo, as a species, macaques are more aggressive than humans. Humans are more like gorillas - less hysterical and destructive, lol. For example, macaques can be very cruel to baby macaques - humans (as a species) aren't like that.
Thank you!
You have definitely observed them all. ☺️
I saw the monkeys were very naughty. They climbed everything they saw. Impressive black and white photo :)
Thank you, @nasseir! Macaques are like this - can't be calm even for a second, lol.
Yes. They are really naughty.
Oh man if they learn to break glasses with a stone it's the apocalypse... If they see a human doing this they will learn I think
That must be so annoying getting clothes stolen!
!PIZZA
Who knows. But they didn't learn using sticks from people. As well as many of them probably know that humans can throw stones (dogs know well) but monkeys don't repeat that - they don't throw stones at each other. Interesting why. There is a barrier between species for sure. Species are supposed to stay away from each other and the main marker is behavior - probably, this.
Some species though are more open to learn from others - humans, cats, many birds - all the "mimickers" (and humans are one of them).
$PIZZA slices delivered:
davideownzall tipped x-rain
@danzocal(10/10) tipped @x-rain
Come get MOONed!
I guess to an occasional tourist they would be amusing to watch their antics, I guess I do too, but always wary of their next move. wised up to their passive aggressive antics when one crept up on me many years ago in Gibraltar and yried to have it away with a sandwich I was eating.
Gibraltar macaques - that's a thing to see - a European monkey! Hope one day.
Yup, one shouldn't romanticize macaques - no matter how funny they are, they can be treacherous and dangerous + monkey herpes (that can kill a human).
Monkey herpes as well as AIDS bastards
Awesome shots. 🐒
Thank you, @rg2-foto! 😊
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I find them hilarious! Hahaha, this cute little monster. This is easily one of the most entertaining and informative posts I've read. I was smiling while reading this. Hahaha. Your descriptions of the macaques as criminals and beasts are spot-on, especially with the image of them shaking the TV antenna - classic!
And the stolen shirts, too funny! It's as if they are always on an adventure, trying to tell humans, ' We are the king of this land, not you humans! '
I am so amazed because, despite their attitudes and intelligence, the people living there do not harm these animals. Thank you for the laughs and fantastic insights! I am really entertained.
So inspiring to see that someone appreciated the story, not only the images. Thank you, @luthis26!
Yes, this is a wonderful example of the coexistence of wildlife and people. There are many similar things in India - in addition to macaques, for example, langurs live there in many cities. Hope to visit India this year - let's see how it will go... Miss those giant langurs.
Absolutely the hooligans of the monkey world. As a matter of interest, have you been to see the monkeys in Lop Buri? They take theft and vandalism to a whole new level!
Yes, I've been there in the 2010s and loved the place. Amazing opportunity to photograph macaques with the ancient temple architecture in the background.
All the photos you had taken is very good! I like the color black and white with the deep meaning of each photos you have. Thank you so much for that inspiring meaning there.
Thank you for this inspiring feedback, @applejane! 😊
I didn't know about that... and it's amazing! Taking care of animals should be a civic responsability (and a tradition) everywhere.
And, besides that, great photos! Looking at those macaques going everywhere like a gang is kinda funny - but I'd be a bit scared, if I were to live there 🤣
Yup, and I love it too. For example, all Thai Buddhist temples feed and adopt stray animals. Although I don't know how exactly it works - some temples have only several cats while others have a crowd. A Buddhist temple in Bangkok without cats? It's impossible - I visited dozens. As for provincial cities and rural areas, temples usually have more dogs.
Thank you! 😊
Oh they likes a human hahaha there moves like stealing ahah
True! Monkeys are cousins of humans, so no surprise we are that similar. 😀
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These photos are quite good, and this is a fun read. I knew they were mischievous when they had to be, but it's cool the local people will interact with them and bring them food and stuff. Excellent action photography. I don't always comment on things but this was definitely a cool post, hope to see more like this. Cheers
Yup, Thais are amazing. They also treat each other and other humans nicely too, lol. Wonderful culture. This is why I like being here so much.
Thank you!
!PIZZA
The macaque that was shaking the Tv antenna seems it can compete so well in WrestleMania, he needs to be taken there, I am sure, it can win a fight, that power he shows was so much 😁🤣
Oh yeah, in the super light category, he can be a real king of wrestling, lol.
😁
https://www.reddit.com/r/ThailandTourism/comments/1l7v53k/urban_monkeys_of_wonderful_songkhla_city/
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