An obese long-tailed macaque from Bangkok’s Bang Khun Thien district has been placed on a strict diet after medical tests showed its abnormally large abdomen was not due to a malignant tumour, as had been suspected.
The 10-year-old monkey, dubbed “Lung Ou-an” (Uncle Fatty), is currently being treated at the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP)’s Wildlife Health Division.
The animal had merely put on a lot of weight around the stomach and its level of cholesterol in blood was high, said DNP chief Thanya Nethitthamakun on Thursday.
The macaque will now be fed twice a day with no more than 400 grams of food each time, he added.
The 15-kilogram Lung Ou-an was captured for treatment by DNP officials on April 26 at a park near the Khun Kala Floating Market in Bang Khun Thien.
Diagnosed with lung inflammation, the macaque had been given antibiotics daily and tested for contagious disease.
Test results are still pending.
