Rats, Bats, Cats, and Dragons: Bangkok Wildlife

Last week, I was walking to Patpong in the early evening and came upon two farang dudes staring with awe and chagrin at a couple of rats rooting languidly through a bag of garbage on the street. They seemed surprised and intrigued, as if the sight was something otherworldly to them. Before passing them by, I wondered idly whether they were from London, and if so, whether they knew that in London, no one is ever more than 5 feet away from a rat. The only difference is, in Thailand the rats aren’t shy.

For folks in the West who plan to visit Thailand, fair warning: the difference between the animals you encounter in your quaint hometown and the ones inhabiting the back alleys of Bangkok will astound you. Even the critters that seem similar (squirrels, cats, dogs) are shockingly dissimilar to what you’re used to. Here’s a quick overview of the different types of urban wildlife one might encounter in the Asian “City of Angels” better-known as Bangkok.

Rats

Rats thrive in every city on Earth, though they’re not always front and center. In my hometown of LA, for example, they’re very secretive. In Thailand—or Bangkok, at least—the rats aren’t shy. They don’t have time or inclination to be clandestine. Instead, they go about their business with little interest in the humans in their midst. My first encounter with a Bangkok rat occurred within the first 15 minutes of my first visit to the city. I’d taken the overnight bus from Krabi town and landed in town at 6 am, and was walking down Sukhumvit between Sois 4 and 6. As I approached a pile of garbage, I saw what I thought was a cat rooting through the plastic bags. On loser inspection, it was a rat, about the size of an Australian rules football in my recollection, though today I think my memory exaggerated the size of the creature. It paid me no mind at all, as if I were intruding into his territory—and in point of fact, I was.

These days, I see rats every time I go out. They scamper among the bushes on Silom Road and commandeer any and all trashcans as their own. If you’re a visitor, such a sight might cause the hair on the back of your neck to stand up. It’s a revolting sight. But in a city the size of Bangkok at this tropical latitude, rampant rats are par for the course—as common as roaches and mosquitoes, two pests that are equally impossible to avoid.

In the list of pros and cons of Thailand, rats rank high on the cons list. But if you want to enjoy the pros—of which there are many, many more than cons—sharing the pavement with rats is just something you’ll need to grin and bear.

Bats

This might sound crazy, because they’re nearly invisible compared to rats, but Bangkok is home to flying rodents as well. It’s not unusual to see huge bats in the south of Thailand, like Krabi and Phuket, where the jungle makes for a perfect bat habitat (batbitat for short, copyright BKK7). And much like how the Dark Knight made Gotham City his stomping grounds, there are bats in Bangkok’s belfries, too.

They tend to reside in clusters of trees near sources of easy-to-grab food, like shopping mall garbage dumpsters. In between my apartment and the bustling Silom Road and Soi Convent are a series of corporate buildings that 1—churn out lots of trash during the day that get stacked up in back-alleys by night and 2—turn into quiet to ghost towns after 5 pm, creating an ideal ecosystem for the freaky flyers. Nearly every night, as I walk from my front door to Patpong, a duo or trio of large brown bats swoop down from tree branches to loop around streetlights before returning to the refuge of the leaves. Maybe they’re chasing insects. Maybe they’re just exercising. Thankfully, they don’t mess with humans and are at worst a creepy sight, if only briefly. They won’t hurt ya.

Cats

Thailand is rife with feral cats and dogs. The organized spay-neuter programs of the West don’t exist here, and owner-free pets reproduce without inhibition. In the city feral cats copulate with other feral cats and raise feral offspring which then copulate with other feral offspring, giving way to multiple generations of kittycats that’ve had little to no contact with humans. This is a strata of mammal that don’t exist in the benign suburbs of First World America/UK/Europe. So when you and your girlfriend hit the soi, heading to the floating market or wherever, and a lithe little feline emerges from behind a parked car, and your animal-loving partner bends down to pet the pretty pussy….STOP HER. Chances are good she will not have a love connection with a stray cat in Bangkok. It’s more likely she’ll get Lyme disease or rabies.

During the Covid lockdowns, areas of the city that were previously bustling tourist meccas became ghost towns. For two years, vacated neighborhoods were allowed to be overrun with swarms of cats. Now that the tourists are back, the cats in those areas are extremely upset at having their new-claimed territory invaded by humans. So be aware, beware, and steer clear of the felines.

Dragons

OK so, technically they’re not dragons. They’re monitor lizards, and in the city proper they’re confined to parks and canals. The further out you go into the suburbs and away from Bangkok, the more they pop up on roads, in swimming pools, and kitchens. But for those in BKK, that 6-foot reptile sunning itself in Lumpini Park is not pre-nuclear Godzilla. It’s a Komodo dragon-looking mofo. Don’t feed it, and don’t try to pet it. At best, you’ll get a bacterial infection. At worst, you’ll lose a finger. As long as you keep your distance, they’re kind of a cool park staple, and they set Thailand apart from, say, NYC where the most dangerous animal in the park is a crackhead.

Misc

In addition to the above, there are a handful of common fauna in BKK that you might run across on your Eat-Pray-Love holiday…

Insects

Thailand lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator. This is the ideal environment for bugs to thrive. And in Thailand, they’re friggin’ everywhere. From the buffet cart outside Nana Plaza to your hotel room, they are inescapable. So don’t freak out when you see a roach in the bar, or Burger King. It doesn’t mean the joint isn’t sanitary. It’s because in Thailand, it’s impossible to keep them out of your business. The same is true of mosquitoes, millipedes, moths, ants, dung beetles, spiders, and scorpions. In Thailand, it’s their world—you’re just living in it.

Monkeys

No, you won’t see wild monkeys swinging from the streetlights of Sukhumvit. They’re not prevalent in the city. But the further out you drive—even a few miles, in fact—the greater your chance of running over one in the road. They gather in agricultural bastions, like the shrimp farms and banana orchards just outside of BKK, as well as Buddhist monasteries, where they’re provided with sanctuary and easy food. The largest colony within driving distance from Bangkok is in Hua Hin. That’s where they’ll walk right up and steal your Pepsi or whatever else they can grab. On my last visit to Monkey Mountain, it was a scorching hot day and I had a popsicle (ice lolly if you’re a Brit) in my hand, and I got maybe two bites before a monkey swooped in to grab it. I saw him out of the corner of my eye and moved my sicle above my head, turning on my heel and spinning away from him. He countered by grabbing my shirt, and for a moment we were like dance partners with me swirling and the monkey hanging on with legs, tail, and free hand splayed out in all directions. Then I threw the popsicle and he let go, flying off toward his icy reward.

Geckos

Strangely, the geckos aren’t as plentiful in current year as they were a decade ago. I don’t know if it’s due to loss of food source, or encroaching urbanization, or Covid, or what, but the gecko population has dwindled in the city. They’re still common everywhere else in Thailand, and they’re not totally extinct in Bangkok. Matter of fact, there was one sitting on the window sill of the restaurant where I had lunch last Sunday. The point is, don’t be surprised if you find one in your hotel room and don’t bother trying to catch it or chase it out. Like the roaches, you’re the invader in their natural habitat.

Hopefully the presence of these crazy creatures won’t put you off visiting the Land of Smiles or its capital city. The truth is, you get used to them pretty easily. Some are more annoying/creepifying than others, but as long as you steer clear and go about your day, the animals will as well.

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