By Tia Ghose, Senior Writer | May
4, 2017 05:23pm ET
A morbidly obese macaque who
lives near a floating market in Thailand is raising eyebrows for his sheer
size.
At about 33 lbs. (15 kilograms),
the chubby monkey, dubbed "Uncle Fatty" by tourists in the park,
dwarfs his average-size comrades, who typically weigh about between 13.2 and
15.4 lbs. (6 and 7 kg), said Patricia Turner, a pathobiologist at the
University of Guelph in Canada, who has studied obesity in
macaques. The portly primate is now entering a special wildlife rescue center
to get to a healthier state.
But how exactly did Uncle Fatty
get so rotund, and are the causes and consequences of obesity in animals
similar to those found in humans?
"Like humans, macaques become obese
from consuming excess calories — regardless of the type of food," Turner
told Live Science in an email.
And it turns out that Uncle Fatty
isn't alone: As animals that live in association with humans take up the habits
of people, the animals too are facing increased rates of obesity and metabolic
disease, such as type 2 diabetes, Turner said. [See
Images of Uncle Fatty, the Obese Macaque in Thailand]
Uncle Fatty's weight
In Uncle Fatty's case, the
problem is clear: too much food. He lives near a popular floating food market
(where goods are sold from boats) frequented by tourists who love to see the
portly monkey chow down. Among his favorite treats are noodles, sweet corn on
the cob, milkshakes and sweet melons. Macaques and humans are physiologically
very similar, and for both, too many calories lead to excess weight gain,
Turner said.
"Uncle [Fatty] has got[ten]
fat because he has just been eating everything that people give to him,"
Kawinoat MongKholtechaphat, an organizer with the primate conservation group
Monkey Lovers, which is helping Uncle Fatty get to a healthier weight, told The
Mirror. "He's not sick. He just needs help. He likes eating,
and there are lots of visitors and tourists who give him food all day."
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