Elanso

Remember the disgustingly overweight monkeys we posted about back in May? Fuji TV aired a follow up story about them yesterday, checking on the status of their diet. Below is a video embed of the report with a summary in English:

• Two months have passed since the 50 Macaca mulatta monkeys at Ohama park in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture started a special diet of extra-healthy vegetables, grain, and small fish. Have there been any noticeable results?
• After some shots of the fat animals, nicknamed “metabolic monkeys” by the Japanese media, an old man explains that they became so fat because visitors to the park fed them too much. He confesses that he himself contributed to the problem. He had never expected that the monkeys would become so overweight.
• Because the monkeys are kept at a park, not a zoo, there are fewer barriers or staff preventing them from throwing food to the monkeys. The park has put up more signs telling visitors not to feed the monkeys, and has also cut the amount of calories in their daily food by 60%.
• When the monkeys are fed, they go for the high calorie bananas and sweet potatoes first, leaving healthier veggies and grains. After all the good stuff is gone, they finally eat the remaining healthy food.
• The official in charge of the park claims that it really looks like the monkeys have started to loose weight since April, but photographs show little difference. Regular visitors to the park don’t think the diet is working, and one man even thinks the monkeys have become even fatter!
• How could the diet be failing? The park employee in charge of cleaning the monkey area shows that he’s been finding candy wrappers and peanut shells. Somebody’s been throwing food to the monkeys!
• Since signs don’t seem to be stopping visitors from throwing food to the monkeys, the park is now planning to erect a mesh barrier to block food throwers.

More details on the monkeys diet can be found in the Sankei Shinbun (Japanese).