Monkey training schools

There are two monkey training schools in Surat Thani. One is located some 8 km along Highway 401 in Amphoe Kanchanadit. The other one is located some 35 km along Highway 41 in Klong Thrai, Amphoe Tha Chang. One of the most famous monkey training schools in Thailand is located in Amphoe Kanchanadit. It is owned and operated by Mr. Somphon Saekhow and he is the sole teacher there. He is an expert and has been in this field for 20 years with a reputation for kindness and generosity to the pupils.

Wild monkeys are captured in local forests and trained to pick coconuts in the schools. The schools largely train pig-tailed monkeys. After finishing the course of three months, sometimes extended to 6 months, each monkey learns the skills of coconut harvesters including how to spin a coconut off of the stem, how to fetch the fallen coconuts, how to load and unload coconuts into a vehicle, how to hand a worker coconuts to be peeled from their outer husks, how to load the peeled coconuts into a bag two at a time, and even how to help coil its own rope. Each monkey can pick about 700 to 1,000 coconuts a day. The skills save the owner considerable time and labor.

Visitors can witness real training of the hard working animals. They perform little tasks to collect and load coconuts into a container. The instructors also give a lecture on the training course for the wild monkeys. Aside from the demonstration of training, visitors can view the monkey shows at the schools. To visit the monkey training schools, would-be tourists are recommended to check with local travel agents for full details on the schedule. Or one can call directly to the monkey training schools in Kanchanadit at +66 77 227 351 or in Tha Chang at +66 77 268 088.

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