Kelsey Weekman, AOL.com
May 22nd 2017 11:23AM
A morbidly obese monkey known as Uncle Fat has become royalty in his Thai community.
The creature, who weighs a startling 60 pounds, gained three times the average body weight of his breed by eating junk food left behind by tourists, according to the AP.
He has been rescued from his own indulgence and limited to eating 400 grams of lean protein, fruits and vegetables twice a day, according to Supakarn Kaewchot, the veterinarian in charge of his care.
Uncle Fat's caretakers hope to get him to a healthy weight soon so his risk for obesity-related diseases decreases.
The New York Post reports that the monkey was not only a tourist darling -- he had minions who would bring food back to him. Sometimes, he would redistribute it among the younger monkeys like a chunky-but-fair-king.
Naturally, the public had mixed reactions to the monkey's new mandatory diet:
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'Uncle Fat' goes on a diet
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I am also a wild monkey in need of a diet imposed by authorities @thailand https://t.co/X9VmgReCrX
My autobiography has been published https://t.co/WtxweUlLqG
"Thai primate conservation group 'Monkey Lovers' said today that Uncle was not sick - he was just fat" https://t.co/6FkLTDy5Sx
Authorities in Thailand put wild monkey dubbed 'Uncle Fat' on diet https://t.co/bByRj9NPtk https://t.co/uiTanPrlmY
Morbidly obese monkey Uncle Fat kidnapped by evil vets, forced to endure vegetables https://t.co/ID8ooPPW5y https://t.co/4DWpt1fqvB
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