One particularly curvy long-tailed macaque, named “Uncle Fatty” by locals, has been living a quiet life near the waterfront in Bangkok — but he’s not beach bod ready.
The monkey is getting attention this week from wildlife officials. He caught their eye after reports of a monkey “being fat” in Bangkok’s Bang Khun Thian neighborhood. Now, he will need to undergo a health check to make sure he is okay.
The wild monkey was easily found by workers for National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation who received the reports about the fat simian. They easily spotted the monkey near a floating market and found it to be “really fat,” reported The Nation.
Kanjana Nittaya, a senior official at the department, said yesterday that they sedated the monkey so that it could travel to a Nakhon Nayok wildlife rescue center to have a health check. She said, “We believe it is suffering from obesity because a great number of people come there and feed it. It is probably just sitting there and overeating.”
The macaque weighed in at a whopping 27 kilos, which is almost double the standard weight for the creatures. They usually weigh 8-10 kilograms.
According to a Facebook page for a group of monkey lovers that want to see the creatures remain free-roaming, Uncle Fatty is an an important member of that monkey troop. As a senior in the group, he helps care for younger monkeys. They also report that “the babies love climbing on him because he always has food hidden under his fat stomach. Uncle Fatty is not ill, he’s just old and doesn’t like to move. Only sometimes people will see him teach younger monkeys how to climb and swim.”
This group is working to ensure that the monkeys remain free in the Bang Khun Thian area, since some officials and residents want to cage or remove the monkeys.
Uncle Fatty is far from the only overweight animal in Bangkok though. This chubby dog makes his home outside a beauty supply shop in Udomsuk.
Photo: Laurel Tuohy/Coconuts
