NAKHON RATCHASIMA: It's not every day that a visitor scales a wall to reach a condominium room. But that’s what residents of a newly built project in Pak Chong witnessed on Saturday.
A binturong or Asian bearcat, weighing about 60 kilogrammes, was netted on Saturday afternoon after climbing up the exterior of a six-storey condominium building behind Wat Kud Khla on Thanarat Road in tambon Musee, said Phatharapol Manee-on, a veterinarian with the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
The animal was spotted at around 8pm on Friday by local residents who immediately alerted Khao Yai National Park officials.
The bearcat showed no sign of wanting to climb down, raising concerns that it might fall.
The bearcat starts to climb down prior to running into an empty condo where it was captured. (Supplied photo)
A team of wildlife officers was dispatched to the site on Saturday morning. They brought with them a truck-mounted hydraulic ladder, a bed, some netting and anesthetic in case the animal needed to be tranquillised, said Mr Phatharaphol.
At around 1.30pm, officials raised the ladder and an officer on the ladder prepared to fire tranquilliser darts. When the animal tried to flee by climbing down, the ladder was moved to put pressure on it to climb down further. The bearcat later climbed down to the ground and quickly ran inside the building.
As it entered an empty room, the officials managed to corner the animal and capture it with a net, said Mr Phatharapol.
“The bearcat had just been weaned and is entering the early adolescent age,” the veterinarian explained. “The animal might have been attracted by food smells from the condominium, which is newly built.
“Only five rooms of the six-storey building have people inside. Emerging from the forest, the bearcat might have wanted to explore the world outside by following the food smell. When it saw the building, the animal climbed and had reached the higher floors when it was spotted by a passer-by who then alerted officials.”
The officials had informed residents about the bearcat before they set out to rescue it. Nobody was frightened, said the vet.
The bearcat is now safe and will be released into the forest at Khao Yai National Park.