Now that is one chunky monkey.
A wild monkey in Bangkok who became addicted to junk food and fizzy drinks left behind by tourists has been rescued and sent to live a life of strict diet plans, lean protein, fruits and vegetables.
Wildlife officials caught the monkey, nicknamed “Uncle Fat” by locals, after photos of him started circulating on social media.
Wild monkeys are allowed to roam free in many parts of Thailand and as a result attract many tourists who like to feed and play with the animals.
Uncle Fat is a macaque monkey. Macaque monkeys usually have a strict diet of seeds, leaves, flowers, and tree bark and weigh about 9kg.
However, Uncle Fat’s binge eating and drinking means he has lived a different life than many of his monkey mates and clocks in at a whopping 26kg.
Clip via ODN
Kacha Phukem, the main wildlife official responsible for finding Uncle Fat, said “it was not easy to catch him. He was the leader of his pack, and when I tried to go in, I had to fight off a flock of them with sticks.”
Uncle Fat’s leadership was so big in fact that he, “had minions and younger monkeys bringing him food but he would reward them by splitting it with them.”
Uncle Fat is believed to be between 10 and 15-years-old and is now in a critical condition, with a high risk of heart disease and diabetes.
To help him lose weight, his new diet is limited to 400 grams worth of lean protein, fruits and vegetables twice a day. Officials hope that within a few months they can consider releasing him to the wild.
All tourists to Thailand are reminded to not feed the local animals, lest more and more macaques suffer the same fate as Uncle Fat.
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