A tailor has offered a 300-baht reward for the capture of an alpha male monkey, dubbed “Chipped Ear” and notorious for stealing women’s underwear, as park officials are set to resume the capture of alpha monkeys on Monday for relocation to a shelter in Nakhon Nayok province.  

The reward offer has been widely shared on social media. The tailor said that “Chipped Ear” is identifiable by an old injury on his ear. He often steals things from his shop, particularly women’s underwear hung out to dry on a balcony.

Then the monkey will toy with the stolen items until they are damaged and then he abandons them.  Anyone who can capture him and cage or chain him can come to his shop to claim the reward.

There is another alpha male, dubbed “Thanadet”, prefers to chase female motorcycle riders, according to another post.

Padet Laithong, director of the Wildlife Conservation Office, said that, although only 23 alpha monkeys have been caught so far, the exercise is helping to ease the nuisance caused by aggressive macaques. Five of the males have been sterilized.

The captured monkeys are now being kept at a shelter in Saraburi and are monitored by vets. They will ultimately be transferred to a monkey zoo in Pho Kao Ton sub-district, once the zoo is partially completed in mid-April.

He said he will consult the mayor of the Muang district to develop plan for the capture of the monkeys, which is expected to be carried out on three days each week.