Over 50 monkeys were peacefully sleeping in a large Prado tree at Chanthaburi’s Khao Wongkot School yesterday morning when the tree they were sleeping in fell onto the front lawn.
The long-tailed macaques, including some babies, died from the fall itself or were crushed under the tree’s weight. They were found on the school lawn. Several other injured macaques were found nearby.
The school’s director, Rangsan Kumtrakul, noted that it was lucky it happened so early in the morning. Otherwise, students could have been injured as well.
Rangsan said that he was very sad about the death of the moneys and that they had been living on the school grounds for a long time.
As the students and staff arrived for the day’s classes, they helped to move the dead monkeys away for burial.
The school sought help from provincial officials to care for the injured macaques, according to Thai PBS.
As far as what happened to unearth this giant tree, Rangsan believes that the recent heavy rains must have softened the ground enough to loosen the roots, sending the tree toppling while the monkeys were asleep on it.
We hope they are now causing mischief in heaven.
