Ohama Park is home to 50 Macaca mulatta monkeys
Tourists blamed for chunky monkeys
12 May 2008Tourists at a zoo in Japan have been asked to stop feeding a troupe of monkeys after some of the animals gained so much weight they could hardly walk.
Visitors to Ohama Park near the city of Osaka have made a habit of throwing crisps, bread and sweets to the resident Macaca mulatta monkeys.
The park is home to 50 of the animals, which ordinarily weigh up to 11kg in the wild.
Their constant bingeing, however, has led to some of the monkeys weighing more than double this, with the heaviest of all tipping the scales at around 29kg.
Some of the monkeys have become so obese that they have difficulty moving around their cage and visitors often ask if they are pregnant.
Park officials have placed the animals on a strict diet and put up signs asking visitors to refrain from feeding the overweight creatures.
It is estimated, however, that up to 20 people toss titbits to the monkeys every day, meaning that a high fence may have to be constructed around the enclosure.
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