This Might Be the Fattest Orang Utan You've Seen

Jackie reportedly weighs 100 kilograms (16 stone), twice the normal weight of an adult female in the rich jungle habitats of Borneo island.

themalaysianinsider.com

An obese orang utan has been put on a strict diet as wildlife rangers hope to rehabilitate the ape back into the wild.

Sabah Wildlife assistant director Dr Sen Nathan said Jackie was quarantined for three months for evaluation and screened for tuberculosis and hepatitis.

Jackie is starting to eat leafy vegetables and fruits that contain more fibrous material. She has been placed on a very strict diet until her body weight returns to normal

She was relocated from Poring on March 21 this year for a quarantine period of three months so that her health could be evaluated and screened for any communicable disease such as TB or Hepatitis.

The 22-year-old female orang utan, named Jackie, had to be rehabilitated as it spent most of the last two decades consuming junk food provided by tourists at Poring in Ranau under Sabah Parks.

Department director Laurentius Ambu was cited in a newspaper report on Friday as saying that Jackie's familiarity with her human carers led her to seek out tourists at the park's visitors' area.

couriermail.com.au

He said Jackie was from the Poring forest area and was handed over to Sabah Parks by local villagers about 20 years ago when she was two years old.

Sabah Parks management sent her back to the wild in the Poring forest hoping that she will be rehabilitated but unfortunately being close to her human carers, Jackie kept coming back to the park’s tourist visitor area, Laurentius said.

“Right now, her weight has come down to around 85kg and she looks more firm and can move easily without panting, added Dr Sen. “But even with this loss of weight she still would not be able to survive in Sepilok, let alone the wild.

“I am glad that Jackie is a much happier orang utan now,” he said when responding to concern raised by a group, Foto Malaysia, on the condition of the orang utan which they claimed was exploited for tourism.

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