A monkey known as ‘Uncle Fatty’ is finally receiving treatment for his obesity. The 33-pound long-tailed macaque will be sent to boot camp after consuming food from tourists such as melons, milkshakes, sweetcorn, and noodles at a floating water market in Bangkok, Thailand.
He was taken in by the monkey conservation organization Monkey Lovers, who determined that he was not unwell, but rather obese.
They will now force him to run and swing around with other animals in order to get him to half his present weight. ‘Uncle has gotten obese because he has just been eating everything that people give him,’ said organizer Kawinoat MongKholtechaphat. He is not ɪʟʟ; he simply requires assistance.
He enjoys eating, and there are many visitors and tourists that feed him throughout the day.’ According to Kawinoat, Uncle was an important member of the community of monkeys that roamed freely around the market in the Bang Khun Thian area.
‘He’s a leader to the younger monkeys,’ he noted. He teaches them crucial survival sk.i.l.ls. He’s becoming elderly and likes to sit about and eat a lot. We want the monkeys to be free to go outside where they are pleased.’
The National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation Department has now sent Uncle to a wildlife ʀᴇsᴄᴜᴇ center in Nakhon Nayok, some 100 kilometers away, where he will undergo health exams. ‘We feel the monkey is obese because a large number of people come there and feed it,’ Kanjana Nittaya added. It’s most likely simply sitting there and overeating.’
Thailand is home to hundreds of thousands of free-roaming wild monkeys, including gibbons, macaques, langurs, and loris, which are popular with tourists.
