Extremely Overweight Monkey Rescued and Sent to Fat Camp in Thailand

Meet “Uncle Fat,” a 60-pound (27-kilogram) macaque whose name was given by locals who meant it to be more affectionate than insulting. Most macaques normally weigh around 20 pounds (9 kilograms).

Before his rescue on April 27, Uncle Fat, whose age is estimated to be between 10 and 15 years, had been feasting on junk food and soda left by tourists.

He’s since been placed on a 400-gram diet of lean protein, fruits and vegetables twice each day.

Kacha Phukem, the wildlife official who led the rescue, told the Associated Press that catching Uncle Fat was difficult:

Supakarn Kaewchot, the veterinarian looking after Uncle Fat’s diet, said that while “minions and other monkeys” brought him food, he would also redistribute them to younger monkeys.

Still, Uncle Fat’s fatherly gesture did not remove the threat on his own health. “After he ate food given by humans for a while, he developed a fat mass, which became a type of benign tumor. He is now in critical condition where there is a high risk of heart disease and diabetes,” Supakarn said.

Supakarn warned that people shouldn’t feed monkeys with unhealthy snacks and soda which are bad for their health.

Officials are hoping to bring Uncle Fat back into shape and release him in the wild soon.